There came a time after each cancer diagnosis when I had to decide “who to tell.” I chose to tell everyone in my life about what I was going through, and I was blessed a zillion times over with support from expected sources AND from people who surprised me.
This doesn’t mean that YOU have to tell everyone you know. YOU have to do what is best for YOU!
For me, it felt like the right thing, and I stayed in touch with everyone very easily through Caring Bridge. Even if you just have one person to lean on, so that you don’t feel so alone, and so you don’t feel isolated, that is all you need.
Also, you might consider finding a cancer support group in the hospital or clinic where you are going for treatment. Your doctor should be able to refer you to a staff social worker who specializes in cancer patients. Perhaps you’ll find comfort and solace connecting with women in your own community.
Some cancer centers have a Buddy System where they match you up with a woman who’s been through the same kind of cancer and treatments that you are going through. This might be another option.
During my first cancer journey, I found a woman named Elizabeth (from Canada) and another woman named Dawn (from Missouri) on a breast cancer support group. Each of them were ahead of me on the same journey I was on. Even though they lived hundreds of miles from me, we exchanged emails often and they were a huge support to me, offering hope and encouragement in a way that my family and friends could not. You might find connection with just one other survivor/thriver to be a big help to you.
We Are All Connected
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from my SoulCollage® practice is that we are ALL connected. I am connected to everyone who has been a part of my life up until now. This includes those who have died, or left my life in another way.
I am also connected in some way to those I’ve never met whose lives and work have influenced mine, such as authors (Tara Brach, Geneen Roth), performers (Renee Zellweger, Robert Redford), musicians (Josh Groban, John Denver), political or religious figures, and pets.
This is true for you as well!
** Make a list of people and animals that have made a difference in your life up until and including now. **
Community Blessings
I’ve created an 18 minute “Magical Inner Journey” (aka Guided Meditation) that you can listen to or download right here.
Go ahead, take a little time to settle into your own skin and inwardly connect with your own Community Circle of people (and maybe animals) who have been and continue to be a part of your life.
If you are open to it, you will find much wisdom, comfort and support during this meditation. The music in the background is by Mark Stanton Welch.
Click here to download as an MP3.
Online Community
Another option for you is to join our SOS Cancer Journeys online community and drop in on the email conversations on our totally unique yahoo group. It’s free to join in, and you might make some lifelong connections there that will provide nourishment and support for your soul.
Even if you don’t have the energy to post notes, you can always drop by and read what others are saying. There will come a day when you DO have the energy, I promise!
Click here to read more about our SOS Cancer Journeys Yahoo Group Community.
Other Relationships
Sometimes cancer can get in the way of healthy relationships with the significant others in our lives: family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, partners, children and even our parents. It can be a tricky road to maneuver- answering little ones’ questions, expressing your real feelings to a family member, figuring out how to allay someone else’s fear when we are frightened ourselves, or handling everyone else’s expectations of you after a cancer diagnosis.
You might find my blog entry, Connections, helpful too.
You’ll find more helpful ideas about connections with others in our free e-book:
The ABC’s of SOS:
7 Ways to Brighten a Cancer Journey
by Staying Connected to Self, Others and Spirit
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