One of my long-time friends from high school told me last week that her sister was starting chemo for a very aggressive form of cancer. Many of you know that I am a cancer survivor (15 years now) and that I lost my sister to cancer in 1996. I shared with my friend my own regimen of dealing with this very depressing protocol to pass along to her sister and thought that others might benefit.
As we get older more and more of us will be facing this horrible disease either in our own lives or in the lives of our loved ones. I am convinced that how one responds to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer makes all the difference in the world. If you know of anyone going through treatment for cancer who may be having a difficult time, either physically or emotionally, please feel free to pass these little tips along.
- Always take an entourage with you to chemo sessions (I always had at least 3 friends + my husband with me). Talk and laugh A LOT!!!
- Plan to do something fun afterwards, such as go to a new-release movie (the patient gets to pick the movie). They have great anti-nausea meds now, so the chances of getting sick right away are minimal. That isn’t to say the patient won’t feel like crap…he or she will. I would plan my chemo sessions for 10:00 a.m. on Friday morning. My husband and I would then go to a movie. After the movie, I would start to feel bad, so he would take me home and I’d go to bed.
- Get a massage the night before chemo and about 3-5 days later. The massage prior to chemo will relax the body so that it is more accepting of the chemo. The massage after the chemo helps eliminate the poison. It is important to solicit the body’s cooperation in partnership with consciousness. Resistance and separation (i.e., feeling the body has betrayed the patient) will alienate consciousness from the body.
- Walk. Shake. Dance. Do yoga. MOVE. Especially on the morning of chemo. This helps relax the circulatory and lymph systems, which will process the chemo.
- My sister told me when I was going through chemo that I (“Ms. Type-A”) would have to learn to “sit and be”. She was right. I couldn’t focus to watch TV, read, or carry on much of a conversation. The weekend after my first chemo, I took a course from Deepak Chopra on how to meditate. It was money well spent. In the Christian faith, we refer to meditation as “prayer,” however, the focus is a bit different. “Prayer,” as I was taught, is something you do to speak with a separate and distant God. When I meditate, I find “God” within (Remember, Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you.”) This has the continued effect of helping consciousness be in partnership with the physical body.
Remember, if you aren't dead, you still have work to do!
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