By Marcia Dorris – There are no easy choices once you find yourself on the cancer journey. A cancer diagnosis is one of the most shocking things you can ever experience.
If you know someone going through this whether it’s the person with cancer or someone who loves them one of the best things you can do for them is there. Listen to them. Allow them to be angry to cry, scream cuss whatever it is that they need to express, listen without judgment. Don’t give them your opinion of what you think they should do or tell them their choices are wrong. No matter the course of treatment they chose it took them wrestling things out to arrive there. Especially if they choose not to go the traditional medical route. They need your support more than anything and sometimes your presence and listening ear mean more than they will be able to express to you.
A cancer diagnosis is a journey and typically it lasts for a while. Most likely 5 years or more. Every little bump and lump will send them into a panic.
The American Cancer Society says 5 years after a cancer diagnosis you are considered “cured” whether you still have cancer or not. There have been many people who were listed as cured by the Cancer Society who later died of either complication to cancer or chemo.
The choice not to have chemo was a difficult one for us and it was a decision we did not make lightly. My husband and I both did so much research and talked to many people who had chemo. I had read where the particular type of cancer Kelsey had typically come back just a few short months after chemo. This type of cancer is generally found in children. I had read several posts of moms looking for other options because shortly after chemo the cancer returned. It hurt my heart.
Another thing if you know someone diagnosed with cancer and someone you know has died of that particular type of cancer please don’t mention it. I heard that a time or two and it really threw me in a downward spiral. People going through cancer and their loved ones need positivity and encouragement. They are already flooded with fear and the last thing they need is to know this particular type of cancer has killed others. They already know that but they don’t need a face to put with it.
We protected Kelsey from this as much as possible. When I read very scary things about the type cancer she was diagnosed with I kept my mouth shut about it. It would not help in her healing process at all.
Also please know when people choose to go the natural treatment route they have chosen this because to them this is the best option for a long healthy life. They aren’t choosing this because they like to gamble. This is the choice they made based on much research. Please if you know someone who has made the choice to use alternative therapies don’t try to change their mind or make them second guess themselves any more than they already are. No matter the course of treatment you choose you will second third and fourth guess yourself.
I am currently writing about our experience at the Cancer Clinic in Mexico and will post it but as of right now I’m not sure where in the order of things it will fall.
I guess I have much more to say on the topic than I realized.