In a recent article in the LA Times, cancer survivor Cindy Finch wrote about her struggle to find psychosocial support in life after cancer.  When cancer treatment ends, we are thrown out into the world and expected to just pick it up where we left off.  Our bodies are saved, so the doctors' jobs are done.  That seems logical, right? NOT.  As Finch so tactfully writes, after "discovery, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship" comes a "fifth phase," which is the LIFE after cancer.  

Being able to say you are officially done treatment, and are a survivor, does not necessarily equal happiness.  For me, this could not have been more true.  After I finished my relapse treatment, I had beaten cancer twice so should have felt exceptionally happy to be alive.  But, I had missed so much school and so much of my adolescent life that I felt cheated.  I felt like something had been stolen from me and I would never get it back.  Sure, I went to school and tried to return to normalcy.  However, it didn't work that easily.  I struggled to fit in with my peers because I had just lived in a high-intensity world of medicine, full of strict routine and millions of rules, while they were living life full of excitement and without inhibitions.  How does one learn to be a teenager again?  How do you learn not to panic when sharing food at the lunch table, or standing next to someone who is coughing?  How do I explain to my classmates why I can't run so fast in gym class? How am I supposed to feel good about myself when I am all kinds of overweight from treatment, but surrounded by toned and tiny teenagers?  How do you save your mind from all those questions and worries without a little help?

I had to figure all of that out on my own, but no other survivors should have to.  And I write this blog as a step towards making that possible.  However, if you find yourself lost in that spiral of confusion and concern, take action.  Check out this page on the National Cancer Institute Website for information on mental health issues related to cancer treatment and survivorship: HERE.  Additionally, don't hesitate to contact a mental health professional if you are struggling.  Cancer.net has an awesome outline of the kinds of mental health professionals that can assist cancer patients/survivors if you are unsure of who to contact.

Maybe someday soon the oncology world will get the hint that there is more to treating cancer than treating the disease itself, and that returning to life after treatment is not always a joyous venture.  It does not take a rocket scientist to realize that putting a human being through a near-death experience will likely result in some anxiety and emotional instability.

Fortunately, it seems patients are taking things into their own hands, and through articles like Cindy Finch's, are beginning to raise awareness about the importance of saving a cancer survivor's mind.

Happy Friday!  Today, I came across an article in the New York Times about the words used to describe cancer, cancer treatment, and cancer patients.  What I love about it is the humor and frankness with which the author discusses her own experience with cancer words, and how she "came to terms" with them.  

You can read the article HERE.  

I encourage you to check it out, and would love to know what you think about the terminology you've encountered in your treatment.  Like the author of the article, I have never been a fan of the mixed up way in which cancer things are discussed.  As the article brilliantly states:  
In the topsy-turvy world of cancer, anything “positive” or “advancing” spells trouble. Yet a brain labeled “unremarkable” after an M.R.I. hardly conveys the good news it contains.

Spending the last 4 months studying abroad in Europe left me with many incredible memories and new friends.  But, it also left me with a great deal of time to reflect….to reflect on my past, to think about my future, to look back at what I have written, to remember what I accomplished.  In doing all that reflecting, I found myself in awe that, even now, 5 years after completing my treatment, my journey through cancer treatment continues to be a a part of me.  Whether it came up in class discussion, or somehow was brought up when talking with new friends, I was again reminded of its impact on my life.

In remembering this impact, and reflecting on all that has happened since then, I continue to reaffirm by belief that things happen for a reason...even things like getting cancer twice.  

When I was diagnosed with leukemia for the first time in 1997, and then was given the opportunity to wish for something in 1998 (thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation), I never imagined that my connection to Make-A-Wish would lead me to become part of the most wonderful sorority in the world.  Since joining Chi Omega my freshman year, I have been able to take part in efforts to support Make-A-Wish and the children benefitting from it.  

When my cancer relapsed shortly after my 13th birthday, I never dreamed that a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society lacrosse tournament fundraiser would connect me with the Duke University Women’s Lacrosse team, and spark my interest in a school that would later become my home.  

It’s also thanks to my relapse treatment that I met my oncologist, Dr. Patrick Brown, and was given the opportunity to intern with him my junior year of high school.  The best part of that was being on the other side of healthcare for the first time in my life, and solidifying my passion for medicine.  

And although my relapse seemed to deprive me of friends at first, while also making me feel so different than my peers, it actually led me to have more good friends than I had ever had before. Thanks to cancer, I have become part of the incredible Camp Sunrise family and a massive family of cancer survivors both in Maryland and across the country.  I also have a wonderful group of friends from high school, the people who reached out to me when I first went back to school and continued to light up my life since then.  

I also never once thought that my experience with cancer would drive me to start a website of resources, become published in a book about social media use in healthcare, or hone my public speaking skills through being a patient ambassador.

So, with all of that said, my point is not to boast, but rather to show how you can use your cancer experience(s) to enrich your life, rather than just letting it break your life apart.  Additionally, I want to use this post as an example of why it is good to look forward to what is ahead.  Although life may have initially surprised you with the terrifying obstacle that is cancer treatment, I am fairly certain it holds some really beautiful surprises in store as well.  You just have to wait :)