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It's completely normal to feel scared when you receive a cancer
diagnosis.
You might feel like your life is out of control and
that everything you do suddenly revolves around your
disease, but
surviving cancer is about more than getting rid of the disease.
It's about finishing treatment cancer-free
with your quality of life, goals, and dreams intact.
It's a bump in the road of life, not a dead end.
Your cancer survivorship care begins now with your diagnosis.
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That's why it's important to talk to your doctor, nurses, and
nurse navigator about your day-to-day activities, as
well as your life goals, so your treatment is designed to get rid
of the cancer while preserving your quality of life and
remain focused on your future.
For instance, if you are young and
want to start a family some day, your doctor can refer you to
a fertility preservation specialist if treatment
might affect your ability have children in the future.
If your passion is to become a concert pianist, your doctor can
avoid certain treatment therapies that cause numbness,
pain, and tingling of the fingers and toes.
Your treatment team can work with you to reduce side effects
of the medication so cancer doesn't derail your dreams.
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Also, many people need to work to keep their income and
health insurance intact.
This usually can be accomplished while still
receiving the appropriate treatment you need.
It just requires planning.
At the beginning it may seem like cancer will take over your
life, but you should only give cancer the time it
requires to get rid of it.
This will help you reduce your stress,
which is a big factor in immune function.
Find out how long your treatment will last and
schedule it to minimize disruption of your daily life.
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When the surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation
treatment are over, you might be left with mixed emotions.
You want to celebrate being cancer free, but
you're hesitant for fear of jinxing yourself.
You're not alone in these thoughts.
This is a life altering experience.
You faced your mortality and
now you're faced with the transition back to community
providers and taking charge of your own health.
Due to the shortage of oncologists, your community
providers will take over your care, so that newly diagnosed
patients can have access to your oncology team.
Before the transition ask your oncology team for a copy of your
treatment summary, and survivorship care plan.
It's really your survivorship life plan.
They'll give you a road map for
planning your ongoing care with your general practitioner.
Ask questions like, what monitoring do you need?
How often and why?
What is your risk of recurrence and
when does the risk goes down, and what should you expect
from your treatment summary and survivorship plan?
There are many different types and stages of cancer that come
with many different risk of recurrence.
Having this information empowers you to make informed decisions
and monitor your health going forward.
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Depending on the kind of cancer you had, and
the stage of the disease, along with the treatments received,
your doctors will have determined what types of
monitoring and screening are needed.
Don't be surprised if you're not getting lots of scans and
tests done going forward.
In many cases, such tests are no longer necessary or recommended.
Physical symptoms are commonly a better way to determine
if something warrants being pursued further, and
don't assume every ache and pain is related to the cancer.
Generally, if a symptom lasts longer than three weeks, without
a known cause, you should check with your general practitioner.
Remember that list of your life goals you shared with your
treatment team?
This is a great time to revisit that list, and
make sure you're still on track.
Is there anything that you'd like to add after this life
changing experience?
Maybe you want to work less, so
you can spend more time with your grandchildren.
Maybe you've got a renewed desire to finish your
college degree.
Maybe you'd like to try a new career.
Your survivorship life plan should include these goals,
as well as lifestyle behaviors that will
help you live your best life moving forward.
Although your treatment is done,
you might still be dealing with the side effects,
fear of recurrence, or anxiety as a result of the disease.
Connecting with other cancer survivors through a survivor
volunteer mentorship program can be enormously beneficial
in helping you through this transition.
You have been given the gift of life.
What you do with this gift is up to you.
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