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Lessons Survivor to Survivor
1. You are a Survivor from the day you were
diagnosed.
2. Get a second opinion,
or a third.
3. Create your own support
group. Get in touch with other co-survivors for moral support
and advice.
4. Remember to BREATHE.
5. Do some soul searching.
Find someplace that makes you happy and relaxed, and spend
some time there
on a regular basis.
6. It is okay to say, "no"
to people. This is your turn to be self-nurturing.
7. Remove these words from
your speech:
- Maybe
- Sure
- I don't know
- You decide
- If you want to
8. It is okay to struggle,
get mad, sad, desperate by pleading for more time, or just
numb. Mourning
your diagnosis is part of healing process.
9. Don't automatically think
you're dying. Take 3 days to mourn it (the Three-Day Rule)
and move on.
Find the fighter in you. Maintain your strength.
10. Set up a CarePage (www.carepages.com
or www.caringbridge.org), or send out frequent e-mails,
to
update your friends and family on how you are doing. This
way the gossip stays to a minimum, the facts stay straight,
and you don't get a million phone calls.
11. Educate yourself on the diagnosis, treatments, and current
clinical trials.
12. Create a calendar that includes all medical appointments,
prescription refills, and always keep a copy of medical insurance
information.
13. Ask your oncologist questions,
and be sure to come to your appointments with a list of
things you wish to discuss.
14. During your treatments, visualize
your cancer cells dying, and your healthy cells rejuvinating
and taking over.
15. Get the sleep you need. Don't
push yourself.
16. Have hope.
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Lessons Survivor to CareGiver/Friend
1. Chemotherapy
and radiation can suppress an immune system, making the
patient more vulnerable to infections. Use a lot of hand
sanitizer like Purell.
2. It's okay
to be emotional. Seeing your friend/child/parent/love one
go through treatment for cancer can be unimaginably difficult.
3. Don't blame
yourself.
4. Be strong.
Your loved one needs your support.
5. Try to help
your loved one lead a "normal" life. Just because they
have cancer does not mean that their cancer has to have
them.
6. Offer your
support by driving them to appointments, visiting them
in the hospital or clinic, sending cards, e-mails, or little
gifts letting them know you are thinking of them.
7. Do not buy
latex balloons or live plants or flowers for a patient
on chemotherapy. Many patients are allergic to latex, and
flowers and plants have mold spores that can cause infection
in someone with a suppressed immune system.
8. Be careful
when you say things like:
- You're so brave.
- I will pray for you.
- Are you going to die?
- Bless your heart.
- I know how you're feeling...
These gestures are often times difficult
for the patient to hear. They need encouraging and helpful
gestures like:
- Keep fighting.
- Let me take you out sometime.
- Just letting you know that I'm here...
- Can I do something for you? / Do you need anything?
- Keep kicking the cancer's butt!
9. Don't tell me that your friend/parent/sibling/grandparent
had cancer and died. It won't help the matter any.
10. Just because your loved one may
have cancer, they are still the same person. Don't treat
them differently.
11. Remember to take care of yourself,
and tend to your needs. Even though you do not have cancer,
it can affect you, too, both emotionally and physically.
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