There is something special and unique about the bonding that takes place when people bond through their shared experiences. Something that i noticed when my parents each went through their cancer diagnosis and treatment sessions…intense bonding with fellow cancer patients and their families. That bond in those relationships was a lifeline at times. The fear of the unknown, the medical traumas, the difficult side effects, the kindness of strangers it all blended to remind us that we were not in the situation alone.
During hospital stays, during chemo treatments, and doctor appointments; my parents and other patients would share things about their families, about their experiences, their struggles, medical information, tips on how to overcome nausea, or how to cope with some of the side effects of the treatments. Some patients were alone…they had no family or else their family members lived in distant places. We would adopt them and visiting and trying to support when we could. It was all very intense.
In what amounts to a, down in the trenches, fight for their lives; cancer patients bond in very intense ways. When fellow patients would struggle…my parents would ask for prayer for them, from us. We are blessed with a strong family unit. We would honor the request …knowing that if we needed the favor returned…it would be given automatically by those same cancer patient friends and their families. We were all in a fraternity; that none of us wanted to be in….but still, we were in it together.
The losses hit hard. The emotions were so deep for my parents and for our family. Each loss, it was understood, could have been ours as well; but for the grace of God. Each milestone was celebrated. Waiting for the results of testing was, and is, filled with anxiety and fear. It is no less worrisome to hear of others around the world who struggle with the same issues. http://www.tnbcfoundation.org/tnbcinthenews.htm (more…)
Write where you are 