5 Things you need to know about Cancer Survivorship
The New “Normal”
This phase gets thrown around a lot, but what does it really mean? You wake up one morning (after your treatment is complete) and you look in the mirror and you barely recognize yourself. You may have lost or gained weight, your hair is definitely not what it used to look like. If you have had Chemo, you may develop the infamous “Chemo Curls'' which may or may not stick around. I personally have had this happen twice and my once straight hair now has some significant curl to it! Even if your appearance hasn’t changed, you may still feel “different”. Your skin may be drier than before or it may take your muscles a bit more to even just get out of bed in the morning. Regardless of your treatment, you are not the same. You may even feel like an imposter at times. You have returned to work and feel like you should be this person that you were before.
You Will Need to Learn to Live with Uncertainty
Once your treatment is complete, you will have follow up appointments and tests with your Oncology team and possibly your family doctor. Confirmation that all is well is a great thing, however waiting for your results can be agonizing. The Scanxiety is real! There will always be a thought in the back of your head asking the question, “what if it returns”? Every little ache and pain will trigger that question. “Has it returned? Is this a sign?”. It is important to not let these thoughts and feelings overwhelm you.
You will Reprioritize What is Important
This is a big one. When I was 18, I developed Leukemia. I ended up having an “autologous” Bone Marrow Transplant. This is where you are both the donor and receiver. It was a relatively new type of treatment, as I was patient number 13 to have this done in all of Canada. Fortunately, it ended up being very successful for me. Several months after I was released from active treatment the hospital had a ceremony to celebrate their “100th patient” who had undergone this treatment. On the wall they had posted all of the first 100 patients and their names. I noticed that most of the patients listed who had gone before me, were listed in red. I asked the nurse what that meant. She explained to me that they had passed. My head started to spin and the first thing I thought was, “I’m going to die too!” Well, that changed my priorities very quickly! I realized that I needed to maximize my time, no matter how much I had left. I thought about all the things I wanted to do AND all the things I hadn’t said or done with the people I love.
Recovery Can Take a Long Time
This is one that I struggle with. Everyone is different but almost all survivors will have a few things that are still in the process of healing. It is 2 years post Breast Cancer for me, (Yes, after Leukemia at 18, I developed Breast Cancer 30 years later.) and I still have lingering joint and bone pain, dry skin, stomach issues and I am slow to heal in general. Healing is a very personal issue. Allow yourself the time to recover.
There is also a mental aspect of recovery. Let me explain. Being diagnosed and going through Cancer treatment is all encompassing. It is all you are thinking about. You are going through all kinds of emotions and trying to process what is happening in the moment. It is only when you are out of active treatment that you can reflect (and hopefully accept) what has happened. I had a friend who gladly had finished active treatment but then had spent the first week home crying, and she couldn’t understand why. She was processing all of the built up emotions that she hadn’t allowed herself to deal with during treatment.
Health Problems May Occur Down the Road
I’m just going to say it. You need to accept that health problems may occur down the road. It can be a reoccurrence of the same Cancer, a different Cancer or something not even related to Cancer. Our bodies face a lot of abuse and treatment can take its toll on our systems. As we get older our bodies can get less and less resilient and things can pop up. It is important to do your best to take care of your body. Sleep, exercise, and nutrition are what I try to focus on. I believe you need to “Feed the body and Nurture the Soul”. (This affords me a little bit of chocolate now and then, lol!)
Stay healthy,
Kim
