SURVIVORSHIPS ISSUES: BREAST CANCER WILL CHANGE YOU
Having breast cancer will change you. With luck and the safe passage of time, you will find ways to appreciate what this life-changing diagnosis has done for you. You will grieve for the woman you used to be as you come to understand and value the woman you are becoming. The process you will pass through is complex and multifaceted and will demand your energy, your attention, and all of your patience. It is a journey in much the same way that life itself is. The final destination for everyone is, of course, death. But if you continually focus only on the destination, you will miss the journey, and it is the process of living day by day, and night by night, that constitutes the voyage. The final destination will come soon enough.
Living with breast cancer is similar in many ways to grieving other losses. As those of you who have suffered the loss of a dear one or other life tragedies already know, grieving is a complex and demanding task. It takes patience and courage. You will find, as time passes, that you experience a wide range of feelings and reactions. Some common feelings include:
? Shock, disbelief, denial, and anger
? Active suffering in the mourning process, letting the pain penetrate and register, letting yourself feel and express joy and sorrow
? Acceptance (and this happens only slowly)—coming to peace with yourself, your altered image, the loss of your former state of health and your sense of immortality, perhaps the loss of body parts and perhaps the loss of the potential to conceive and bear a child. You have lost who you were and will grow into who you will be.
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Tags: Women’s Health