Thursday, March 14, 2019

Supporting Others Who Are Dealing With Cancer

Every person handles a cancer diagnosis differently. The most important thing is that you say or do something. Here are three suggestions you may find helpful based on my experience.


PUBLISHED March 14, 2019

Doris Cardwell received a life-changing diagnosis of inflammatory breast cancer in 2007. While undergoing treatment, she co-founded a mentor program for the cancer center treating her. She also created community events to educate, encourage and empower people regarding cancer. Doris was the first Survivorship Community Outreach Liaison for her local cancer center. She is an advocate, educator and encourager on issues facing cancer survivors. Doris is a wife, mother, empty nester, survivor of life and lover of all things coffee. An avid speaker and blogger, she is available at www.justdoris.com.
I will never forget the day I realized cancer was becoming part of my life. There are no words to describe with clarity how I felt in that moment. I saw pictures online that made a pit in my stomach as big as the Grand Canyon. I read statistics and tried hard not to faint in fear. At the end of the day, all I could do was sit with the knowledge that life as I knew it was changing. We told family and a select group of friends. As word got out the phone started to ring.

I had some difficulty during those days. This was in great part because the things people said, while well meaning, were hard for me to hear. I am sure I have said most everything I heard to someone else before. Yet being on the receiving end of those comments made me rethink things.



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