Skip to main content

A Practical, Uncensored Conversation About Breast Cancer


Self Care

 "If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self. "

- Napoleon Hill

Cancer brings out lots of changes, things, people, feelings, disruptions, and just
general overwhelming-ness. Regardless of the stage, it all seems to be the same.

This is the time THE PERSON WITH CANCER is First.

This will fly in the face of society. Generally, we think of ourselves as tough and thinking of yourself is selfish.

I wish I could wave a wand and make that thought process all go away.

Alas, I would probably end up just smacking and stabbing people with the wand and I'd get it taken away.

When I was first diagnosed, I created my Ring Circle.

If you don't know what the Ring Theory is (and who does until they are smack in the center of it), it is a Circle with rings created by breast cancer survivor and clinical psychologist, Dr. Susan Silk Ph.D., and arbitrator/mediator, Barry Goldman.

The cancer patient is the center. The ring around that circle is the spouse or caregiver. The ring around that one is whoever you chose. And it keeps going with more rings.

Here's why this matters. As the center of the ring, ONLY comfort dumps in. The center can dump out all they want to whatever rings they want.

No one gets to dump garbage in, toward the center. This means, as the cancer patient, I could rant and rave and nitpick all I wanted.

But no one got to rant and rave at me.

You can put whoever you want on whatever ring you want. In theory, family would go on one of the more center rings, but what if a member is toxic and tries to dump into your center? Push them to one of the further out rings.

Bottom line, the only thing going to center is comfort.

Having established this meant I was the center and could make decisions on what I needed, not what someone else needed.

Now on to taking care of yourself

Self-care doesn’t have to be complicated or lengthy or hard or expensive. A lot of times we hear the words “self-care” and it invokes bubble baths, soft music, candles and peace and ever-loving quiet. While that is great and highly recommended, it doesn’t have to be that elaborate.

Here are some simple ways to take care of yourself.

Water – Make sure you are hydrated. This is often the first thing that gets forgotten.

Eat – Munch on something healthy. Nuts, cheese, fruit and veggies are quick go-tos.

Skin care –Your skin is your largest organ. Make sure you give it some love.

Sleep – Always, always, when you can, sleep.

Move – It sounds counter-productive, but moving can make you feel worlds better. It’s hard to get started (I totally get it), but even just stretching your wrists or your ankles can get you started.

Meditate – This one is challenging, but effective. Give yourself grace and start slow.

Stretch – Stand up and touch your toes. Then reach for the sky. It’s movement. It helps your body.

Go Outside – Stale house air is just that – stale. Get outside and breathe some fresh air. Even if it’s just standing outside the door.

Music – Play something that takes you back in time. Play something YOU want to hear.

Get Creative – Paint, write, draw, build, sew, make, whatever to gets the right side of your brain going.

Self-Massage/Acupressure – No time for a 75 minute massage? You can learn how to give yourself quick massages. As well, there are pressure points all over your body to release tension.

Shower – Faster than a bath and has much of the same effects. When we feel like crud, we often forget this part because it takes so much energy.

Foot Bath – The quick version of a bath for those tootsies that carry you through the day (literally).

Bath – Yes, have at a full bubble bath complete with candles and music and quiet.

Cancer sucks (I'll say it again and again) so this is the time to look inward to what is going to help YOU.




...
Labels:

Popular Posts

Paxman Cold Capping

"I'd like to kiss ya, but I just washed my hair."  - Bette Davis "You are the only person I know who kept your hair despite going through chemotherapy,” a coworker said to me the other day. It’s not the first time she said it. It still filled her with wonderment that I accomplished that, even though it was four years prior. It shouldn’t be that way. I cold capped during my six months of some pretty harsh chemotherapy. It is something that has been around in Europe since the 1970’s. In the US it first became approved by the FDA in 2015 and again in 2017. When I found out I would be having chemo due to a Stage 2 triple positive tumor in my left breast, I reached out to an oncology nurse friend. I was still reeling from the fact that I would even be having chemo. I asked her about this cold capping business. She told me it wouldn’t work. When I met with an oncologist I would later fire (for a different reason), he didn’t mention the option of cold capping. W...
----»

Complimentary Treatments

There is a big difference between Traditional Treatment, Complimentary Treatment and Alternative Medicine. This is about Complimentary Treatment that goes  along side  Traditional Medicine. Some of these might resonate with you. Others might be “Too far, Lady.” Try the ones that feel right and scroll past the ones that don’t rock your world. Everyone is going to be different. None of these should take the place of traditional cancer treatment . When I walked into my acupuncturist and saw the crystals she laid out on the table next to the sound machine, I asked if those were going to cure me. She side-eyed glanced at me to see if I was serious and said, “Chemotherapy, radiation and surgery are going to eradicate your tumor. What I do is alleviate the symptoms of those treatments.” I nodded my head. “Right answer,” I said. Here is a list of things that I used or other people used that they found beneficial: Yoga  –There are dozens, if not thousands, of YouTube vid...
----»