It’s easy for a person with breast cancer to feel overwhelmed by the many thoughts that enter the mind each day but there are techniques that can prove helpful. One survivor shares some of her own helpful tips.
BY Bonnie Annis
PUBLISHED June 26, 2019
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.
“Get out of your head.”
Those were the words a fellow cancer survivor and friend chided in a recent conversation. I was surprised at her bluntness. We’d been discussing the future, sharing concerns about our health and making tit-for-tat comparisons. When I asked what she’d meant when she told me to get out of my head, I received the response, “You’re thinking too much about things, things that don’t really matter.” I wondered how she could say that. Didn’t she understand that with cancer, everything mattered?
I’d shared with her that I was struggling. My mind was being assaulted daily with endless thoughts all related to cancer. When I wasn’t thinking about the stack of medical bills in our bill basket, I was wondering if that stabbing pain over my left eye meant cancer had returned and was now in my brain. Random thoughts would pop into my mind throughout the day and no matter what I did, I couldn’t help but feel consumed with worry. I realized, after talking with my friend, I was definitely stuck in my head and I needed a way to get out.
Those were the words a fellow cancer survivor and friend chided in a recent conversation. I was surprised at her bluntness. We’d been discussing the future, sharing concerns about our health and making tit-for-tat comparisons. When I asked what she’d meant when she told me to get out of my head, I received the response, “You’re thinking too much about things, things that don’t really matter.” I wondered how she could say that. Didn’t she understand that with cancer, everything mattered?
I’d shared with her that I was struggling. My mind was being assaulted daily with endless thoughts all related to cancer. When I wasn’t thinking about the stack of medical bills in our bill basket, I was wondering if that stabbing pain over my left eye meant cancer had returned and was now in my brain. Random thoughts would pop into my mind throughout the day and no matter what I did, I couldn’t help but feel consumed with worry. I realized, after talking with my friend, I was definitely stuck in my head and I needed a way to get out.
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