Saying goodbye to your old normal is necessary when you're faced with cancer. The new normal is a vitally important part of a cancer survivor's post diagnosis timeline.
BY Bonnie Annis
PUBLISHED May 04, 2018
Bonnie Annis is a breast cancer survivor, diagnosed in 2014 with stage 2b invasive ductal carcinoma with metastasis to the lymph nodes. She is an avid photographer, freelance writer/blogger, wife, mother and grandmother.
I’ve almost forgotten the me I was before I had cancer. It’s hard to remember how different I was before having my breasts removed. There are some things that have stayed the same, but there are many things that are different. As hard as I try, I can’t really remember my old normal. Does that mean I’m not quite as normal as I used to be? Probably so.
Right after diagnosis, I’d keep hearing people talk about embracing your new normal. That was a term I’d never heard before and I wasn’t sure what it meant. Like a child, I felt naïve and uninformed, like everyone else knew a special secret that I wasn’t privy to. I watched and waited, expecting some epiphany to dawn on me, but none came. I guessed I’d have to figure it out on my own.
Weeks and months passed. I kept trying to figure out what this “new normal” was all about, and then one day it hit me. My old normal was forever gone. Nothing in my pre-cancer days would ever be the same again. Oh sure, I’d still have the same likes and dislikes, but things would be vastly different. Things would be more challenging. And they were.
Right after diagnosis, I’d keep hearing people talk about embracing your new normal. That was a term I’d never heard before and I wasn’t sure what it meant. Like a child, I felt naïve and uninformed, like everyone else knew a special secret that I wasn’t privy to. I watched and waited, expecting some epiphany to dawn on me, but none came. I guessed I’d have to figure it out on my own.
Weeks and months passed. I kept trying to figure out what this “new normal” was all about, and then one day it hit me. My old normal was forever gone. Nothing in my pre-cancer days would ever be the same again. Oh sure, I’d still have the same likes and dislikes, but things would be vastly different. Things would be more challenging. And they were.
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