Thursday, November 3, 2011

Great Guest Post by David Hass

Overview of Cancer Survivorship

Cancer survivorship is a topic that comes up quite often and is quite important in its own right. It refers to the exclusive group of people who have fought the disease and won. Thus, members of this group understand each other on very base personal levels.

The concept of
survivorship is important because it creates a sense of camaraderie and shared experience. Those who have fought and stayed brave through chemotherapy and radiation therapy often find it difficult to relate to others who have never had the disease. This is where support groups come in.

Internet and in-person groups both serve different purposes. Web-based groups bring together cancer survivors from all over the country and indeed from all over the world. With the click of a mouse button or a few strokes of the keyboard, people can instantly connect with others who are thousands of miles away. Internet-based survivor message boards are important because they allow men and women to share tips. For example, individuals might discuss diet and nutrition, exercise, moral support from family members, or even operations and other surgical procedures. Many times, helpful information can be gleaned and put to work in one’s own life.

Whether a person is suffering from a common disease like breast cancer or a rare and deadly cancer like
mesothelioma, in-person groups are also helpful. People from the same city or region can come together and talk about what they’ve experienced. These can be thought of as group therapy sessions. A doctor, nurse, or psychologist may even lead some of them. Survivors can share stories and help others who are currently battling a malignancy themselves.

Ultimately, these are all ways to release inner emotions and to get complex feelings out in the open. When people take the time to talk about things and pour out their hearts to others, surprising results usually follow. This can sometimes be tough to do, but encouragement from others to speak one’s mind should help quite a bit. Often, men and women will hit upon feelings that they did not even realize were there.

For those individuals looking for such support groups, they can look to local medical organizations for help. Asking around might also yield some helpful information. If individuals are a bit wary of heading to one of these groups, they should give it a try. It may be exactly what is needed.

By: David Haas

Hope you enjoyed his article - it has a lot of great points about surviorship and different ways to reach out.  It also contains great links that I plan to visit and hope you do too.  Thanks to David and his care regarding cancer patients.

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