World Cancer Day has prompted me to think about my experience of cancer. Not something I would normally bring up in business conversations but all our experiences contribute to our voice and how we understand others.
Awareness days and months are dedicated to a specific problem and often driven by charities. Awareness days can be a very useful prompt for your blog, social media and newsletters.
Cancer – the reality was different from how I imagined.
Looking back over my experience of cancer four years ago I have recorded some of my thoughts as bullet points
More treatment choice: I could choose which hospital I could go to within the NHS – I moved to be near my children, to a new-built London hospital.
Surgery was cleverer than I imagined: I had no idea that parts of my colon could be cut out and rejoined without any problems
Cancer cells themselves are not the problem: We all have cancer cells in our body. Lots of them. When we are healthy a process called autophagy destroys them.
You do have choices: Your lifestyle and nutrition and health is a big factor.
Emotional attitude helps recovery: purpose and resilience can even succeed if medical solutions have failed.
Chemotherapy was more debilitating than I imagined: Despite being encouraged by doctors that I would cope with chemotherapy, it was more difficult than I had imagined. Many days just passed in semi sleep.
There are many different approaches to cancer treatment: from stem cell replacement, to more “miracle” treatments to medicines that basically are based on mustard gas which was used to gas the enemy in the first world war.
Vein walls tend to become weaker during treatment so having a PICC line – a direct entry into veins was a good idea over the period.
My treatment was on a two week cycle, and the different medications and hospital attendances took up a lot of time. I felt better on the day when I went back for the next round.
Having to go to A and E and have periods in hospital was not uncommon.
Dexamethasone – the steroids I was given for two days after the infusion has been mentioned as useful to use for Covid patients.
MacMillan support was wonderful: I got a “buddy” through the Macmillan charity who came to see me every other week. This was a fantastic boost.
The biggest surprise about my cancer treatment
The biggest surprise was that even if my body was weak I felt strong emotionally and spiritually.
I read a book which encouraged you to join a book club when treatment was over but advised that you wouldn’t be able to read a book every month. That was like a challenge and I found I did have the energy and interest to read and think. The whole experience was fairly intense and very different from my previous life, but it was always interesting.
Despite the excellent medical care I had a renewed sense that we are each responsible for our own health.
I count my blessings that I am still alive and well!
Resources I personally found useful
Charities:
Books:
AntiCancer – a new way of life. David Servan-Schreiber
Radical Remission– Surviving Cancer Against All the Odds. Kelly Turner PhD
Hi Veeda
I didn’t realise you had a recurrence. I love that you said you didn’t want to get stressed again but did. Yes we are all human and stress can be a big factor in getting cancer. I am so glad you live in a place you love and are living the outdoor life you want with grandchildren around you and more on the way! Well done especially as you made big decisions to get to this place. Jean x
Hi Jean
I had cancer almost 19 years ago and a recurrence 2019 – and I remember thinking once I was over all the treatment, I will never let myself get stressed again but undoubtedly we do and we get caught up in life. The one thing that I have enjoyed more since 2003 is the outside, the beautiful world we live in, as you know I’ve moved to Weymouth and I love it here, the sea, the air, just being outside as much as possible is what I crave. I didn’t think I’d live to see my own children grow up but I’ve seen my first grandchild and my second on the way, hope is key, something to strive for, my 12 year old son asked me if I was gonna die, that brings you up short in your 30s but it gave me a reason to live and laugh and get through. Thank you for sharing Jean x
Thanks Alice. Well I didn’t have a lot of the symptoms people talk about! It was almost fluke that I had received the cardboard test kit which just arrived and I sent off a sample. They told me the result. Bloating, pain, loss of weight etc was not a factor.. Actually that is another thing that was surprising I guess. I hadn’t even thought of that.. . thanks for asking.
I’m so glad you came out the other side successfully and happily Jean.
What were the symptoms you experienced which started this all off? Sometimes it is important for people to know… as well as the procedure which follows a diagnosis.