By Tracy Fitzpatrick
Cancer is not a smiley-faced experience! Yet there is so much in the media and in the world of cancer survivors about staying positive. I get that-really-but I also know from my own cancer experience and from that of so many other survivors I have shared with that cancer is not easy. Cancer is not fun.
Cancer hurts. It's scary. It's lonely. It takes a lot from us. It upsets our friends and family members. At least for awhile, we lose control of our bodies and our time. Cancer shakes up our ideas of ourselves and our expectations of the future. We must cope with something we really do NOT want in our lives. And, hey, have you noticed that some people die of cancer?!
I would just like to stay real about it, that's all. I would like to create a safe space where cancer survivors can feel the full range of feelings that cancer and treatment trigger. I would like us to stay authentic.
One minute we feel hopeful. Another minute we are terrified or worried. Sometimes we are immensely grateful, and other times we feel isolated and angry for having to deal with this all. Lots of time we feel conflicting feelings all at the same time.
We survivors are not all the same. We bring our different histories and our own strengths and vulnerabilities, so naturally we cope differently.
That's why I love coaching because it assumes each of us has the answers within us. Coaching helps us put a tap root down to access our unique wisdom. Coaching groups are also a great way to explore your own attitudes and wishes and to share with others who understand.
Let's give each other space to be authentic, to be real, to be honest. And in so doing, we empower each of us to cope with this disease and find peace in our own time and in our own unique ways.
Cancer is not a smiley-faced experience! Yet there is so much in the media and in the world of cancer survivors about staying positive. I get that-really-but I also know from my own cancer experience and from that of so many other survivors I have shared with that cancer is not easy. Cancer is not fun.
Cancer hurts. It's scary. It's lonely. It takes a lot from us. It upsets our friends and family members. At least for awhile, we lose control of our bodies and our time. Cancer shakes up our ideas of ourselves and our expectations of the future. We must cope with something we really do NOT want in our lives. And, hey, have you noticed that some people die of cancer?!
I would just like to stay real about it, that's all. I would like to create a safe space where cancer survivors can feel the full range of feelings that cancer and treatment trigger. I would like us to stay authentic.
One minute we feel hopeful. Another minute we are terrified or worried. Sometimes we are immensely grateful, and other times we feel isolated and angry for having to deal with this all. Lots of time we feel conflicting feelings all at the same time.
We survivors are not all the same. We bring our different histories and our own strengths and vulnerabilities, so naturally we cope differently.
That's why I love coaching because it assumes each of us has the answers within us. Coaching helps us put a tap root down to access our unique wisdom. Coaching groups are also a great way to explore your own attitudes and wishes and to share with others who understand.
Let's give each other space to be authentic, to be real, to be honest. And in so doing, we empower each of us to cope with this disease and find peace in our own time and in our own unique ways.
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