As if a vacuum had not only sucked the breath out of my body, but also the life out of my heart, a diagnosis  of cancer left me feeling as if I was the only person standing on the earth that day.  This was my diagnosis.  This was my illness. This was my life.  What was I going to do with all of this that was truly just mine?

And although it felt this way, I came to learn that it really is something that so many of us unfortunately share in one way or another.  So please know that you are not alone.

We are not meant to deal with these issues on our own, and as I continue to deal with this for the past 2 1/2 years, I know how important it is to bring in others to help us.  These issues are too big and too much for our souls to make so many decisions and try to take care of our daily life in addition to our medical focus.

Building your own personal support "team" is going to bring you not only love and further hope, but will truly benefit your healing. And the sooner you can establish support, the easier it will be for you to focus on the main issue: getting well again.

So think about what is it that you need for healing:  support; physical help that might include mobility, transportation aid; emotional health; dietary needs (someone to cook for you, friends taking turns to bring dinner every night, etc), someone to stay the night(s) with you (anxiety and fears can take over at the quietest times...I will address this soon) and anything else you may want right now.
Don't limit yourself.  People want to help.  It just takes asking on your part.

1. Of course first and most important is to establish your team of support with family members, friends, church/temple members and/or anyone else who you personally feel will help you with what you might need at this time.  These needs will also change over time and you may want to include others on your "team" later on that were not involved initially in helping you.

2. Check into classes and support groups at your local hospital. There are wonderful programs in many of the cancer centers of hospitals and I have had the opportunity to be in meditation, yoga and health classes in several areas I have lived in.

3. Ask in the Oncology Department of your center/hospital what counseling options there are for you. Meeting with a counselor who deals with only cancer patients was a tremendous help for me knowing that she had a much greater understanding of this than the general population of counselors.

4.  Contact your local Cancer Support Community (CSC) center (they are nationwide and formerly called The Gilda Radner Club).  These are non-profit organizations that hold extensive classes, support groups, presentations, etc for you, your families, and your friends (including support groups for children with parents dealing with cancer in many of the centers). My daughter was compassionately carried through some of our hardest days with CSC's family support group.  And I attended a fun loving weekly journaling class that has become a part of who I am today.

5.  Let those in your church/clubs/other activities know what you are experiencing at this time.  This dis-ease affects so many every day and there may be connections with others that you never knew about before this.

And if any one reading would like to add to this list, that would be wonderful!

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With gratitude and hope,
Colleen

"It is no coincidence that four of the six letters in health are "heal"~ Ed Northstrum