After Treatment

Welcome to the Sisterhood!

Finishing treatment should be a wonderful time – a cause to celebrate – but it is often not the way it is.  Our friends and family members have expectations that we are “back to normal.”  Our kids are happy Mom is able to do what she did before treatment.  Our partners are excited that the need for special care is over.  Our bosses and co-workers are excitedly waiting for our return to work, fully expecting that we are the same as before we went out on medical leave.

The truth is …We are not “Back to Normal” the moment we finish treatment:

Physically – we are still tired from treatment.  Our bodies have endured weeks and sometimes months of being tormented by chemo and radiation.  It takes months to recover.

Mentally - we are uncertain of what is next.  We just spent a long period of time actively fighting this disease called cancer.  Now, we are released from that active treatment with no absolute certainty that the cancer is gone.  We believe it is, as do the doctors, but the fight is over.  The fear of what if it comes back takes over.  Every ache and pain is associated in our minds with a new cancer.

Emotionally-  The best part about a cancer diagnosis is that we do look at our priorities and many of us will make changes.  Tim McGraw said in a book called “Live Like You Are Dying,” (based on his song by the same title), “We are all terminal.  Some of us are just lucky enough to know it.”  We are not the same as we were.  Our dreams, our desires, that were always there, but often buried under layers of daily life,  have a way of working themselves to the forefront of who we are now.  An urgency develops.  It can definitely impact the way we think about things, relationships, and certainly our future.

Cancer is not a club we want to join, but once we do, we are forever connected.  We all share some common bonds.  We have all faced our mortality, we have survived.  If you have the desire to share your journey with others going through a similar battle, consider volunteering your time with a cancer organization or start or join a support group (not necessarily because you need it, but for the new people who need you).

Welcome to the Sisterhood!