Good Lifestyle

ACancer diagnosis Is often changing life, disrupting your work, your relationships and, of course, your health. This can mean a complete transformation of a person's daily life. But while the experience of having a cancer has been presented in countless articles, films, television programs, etc., there are realities about life with cancer than those who have crossed this - or are Always spending too often neglected in representations of the disease. Here are 17 things that people never tell you to have cancer.

Although nausea and discomfort of chemotherapy know most people, fewer people realize that loss of your hair is also much uncomfortable.

"Your scalp hurts. At least for me, he did it. It was so painful," non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivorArielle Rosen RecountThe history of the patient. "Then I had very very white hair naturally - now, it's a little darkener became in - but you could see the red of my scalp and I just wanted it. It was painful. Nobody tells you that . "

Doreen dealvo, a survivor of breast cancer, saysThe history of the patient That for her, the worst party was her eyelashes: "My eyelashes hurt a lot when they fell outside. You would not think as small as they would be so painful, but it was like small tips."

Not only can chemo put a serious tooth in your appetite - it can also eliminate your taste buds. Sometimes the result is a desire for sweet treats and junk food.

"All tasted like cardboard, who sucked because I like to eat," breast cancer survivorAmelia LaythamRecountThe history of the patient."The only things I could taste were sweets. People started sending me fruit arrangements, someone sent me a pile of cupcakes. I have eaten a lot of fruits and a lot of desserts."

SHIRLEY PATTAN, a survivor of ovarian cancer, saidThe history of the patient"During the first rounds, all I wanted was crunchy Cheetos. I did not want to eat anything else."

Finding a friend has cancer can be overwhelming for many people, which suggested them that the most appropriate action would be in a situation they have never lived. For some, this uncertainty and anxiety can be too numerous, and they run in the other direction.

"All your friends and family will not be able to manage your diagnosis," saysJennifer Kehm, Development and Liaison ManagerCancer Care Center. "They can hide. It can hurt your feelings, but try to communicate."

PIN OF REBECCA, which leads workshops and speaking commitments related to its 10-year breast cancer survivor experience, resonates this. "I was surprised to see that some people in my life could not handle the fact that I had cancer," she says. "As I became consumed with surgical options and treatment, some of my relationships were naturally completed."

But also often, cancer survivors describe how it closer to others in his life or how those they had not spoken for years have come back in their lives. Often, it's not the people you expect.

"Some relationships are reinforcing," says Pine. "I was surprised to see those who were really there for me not being the ones I expected."

Just like cancer can lead to stronger friendships - sometimes with people who surprise you - it can also bring new people in your life and immediately put you intimate terms.

"Cancer is not a gift, but people bringing in your life are," says breast cancer survivorLisa Lurieco-founder ofCancer is climbed. "During the treatment of the chemo, I was bald and often wearing scarves. It was clear that I had a cancer. On a shopping trip to Trader Joe's, one of the cashiers came to my crate. With a strip of flowers. She had bought them for me with her own money and said, "You deserve flowers." [You feel incredible acts of kindness of foreigners, from your medical team and others. "

When your health becomes a matter of life and death, you could start taking it very seriously for the first time. This can be doubly true for those who follow cancer in childhood, introducing them early to the importance of their health and how all taking their decision can have an impact.

"That's what drifts me to exercise daily, sometimes twice a day if I have time, swallow a handful of vitamins every morning and even get a mastery in nutrition," says the certified nutritionist and the Brain Cancer SurvivorPaul Claybrook, runningSuper Duper Nutrition. "I need to use each tool at my disposal that can or even improve my health and can therefore reduce my risk of future disease."

Those who have not lived this might think that leaving the hospital after surgery or surgery to the patient would be a moment of relief, finally returning to the comfort of the house and getting out of the sterile hospital environment. But many cancer survivors describe to feel more stress than comfort.

"I wanted to stay a third night, but the whole team said that it would be better if I returned home", surviving carcinoma of the kidney cellRachel Rhee, RecountThe history of the patient."I think it was just the fear that I had crawled again. I wanted to be around health professionals, because the IFS were a bit paralyzing for a little bit."

Head of case, a survivor of acute lymphocyte leukemia, described in the experience of panic attacks when you have to leave the hospital.

"I was like" Oh my God, my team is not going to be here. And if something happens? "She says." Everything starts crossing your head and you start panicking. They were like: "You have to leave. It's time to go home", but I was wondering if I was sure I was going to the worst scenario. "

We hear a lot about the health challenges that we go during the fight against cancer, but which is often forgotten, it is the way the harmful treatment of cancer can be on the finances of a person.

"Even with insurance, cancer will cause ravages about your money," saysAPRIL JOHNSON STEARNS, founder and editor ofForest magazine, dedicated to young women diagnosed with breast cancer. "For years, you have been with follow-up appointments, analyzes, surgeries, medicines. You may have trouble returning to work because of" Chemo brain ". You may find that the work you did before cancer is no longer filled. "

More bad news: Beyond the trauma, a body can go through treatments, surgery and sometimes lose parts of his physical body cancer can also all skip your sex drive.

"I did not know that breast cancer would fly me hormones that nourished my libido and call me early menopause, making pretty difficult sex," says Stearns. "I'm too young for that!"

When we talk about cancer causing remission, those who have never lived this could imagine that this means that your health returns. But while the remission is always good news, it does not mean that everything is back to normal.

"There are many side effects that focus after treatment," saysRebecca Adams, CEO and co-founder ofMy care of alchemy skin, which was inspired by his experience with cancer. "It's been 29 months Ned (no evidence of illness), and I still feel some neuropathies in the fingers and toes."

Papillary Thyroid Cancer SurvivorCathy McKinnon, Owner ofCoaching Wellness WarriorAdds that many assume that "remission" means "good", the facts are different. The "reality is that his body never returns to the preceding state and there are long-life impacts that must be managed," she says. "The brilliant side - you are alive to see another day."

And just as side effects can last long after remission, if cancer returns, it can be more aggressive than before.

"It happened to me after a few months of several months," said Adams. "It seems to be pretty standard after the end of treatment. Either the metastasis of cancer or secondary cancer occurs. This is a chemo proof of" cure "because it does not kill the stem cells".

Although the experience of a diagnosis, treatment and cancer remission is exhausting, many who pass through it say that it also inspired them to restore.

"I did not expect my life to be so modified by the cancer experience I deducted my life to make the Community of Cancer," says Pine. "My new job is deeply significant for me. It was an unexpected gift."

It may have been long since you've written in a newspaper, but the experience of life with cancer can renew the value - including the spiritual and emotional benefits - from the cracking open a newspaper to a blank page and The note of some thoughts.

"One of the things I did was that I kept a newspaper", Hodgkin lymphoma survivorLIA Sartorio RecountThe history of the patient."I wrote my thoughts, my feelings or anything about every day."

Written forCancer.net,Amber bauercites a wealth of research that illustrate the benefits of health logging. A 2014 study in theJournal of Clinical Oncology found that subjects withkidney cancer Who did expressly writing exercises suffered fewer symptoms than those who did not do it. And a 2008 report inThe oncologist I found that writing for only 20 minutes can change the way cancer patients think about their illness.

In the process of rating his experiences or reviewing the review later, many cancer survivors describe to another surprise: there are many happy moments among the inconvenience of cancer treatment.

"Part of my logging is to keep track of the good things that came out," Sartorio said in his testimony about the patient's history. "My list is so much longer than I had imagined. It's something I recommend to anyone."

Hodgkin's lymphoma survivorMadi Jones described inThe history of the patient How does it regret not doing more logging for these reasons? "My mother has always tried taking pictures when I was at the rendezvous and I was always so naughty," she said. "I do not want to take pictures. Looking back, I would like to have these memories so that I can look back on and reflect. Nobody told me to the newspaper. I would have liked the Having done, however, because it would have been useful. "

Although a diagnosis of cancer can be insulating and difficult, many of those who have been confronted with this describe the sense of strength they have won from sharing their experiences publicly, in small groups and one.

"Sharing my cancer experience with others gave me a greater sense of goals and a meaning I've never felt before in my life and helped me overcome the feelings of isolation," explains the survivor of cancerFabian Bolin, who recently launched the applicationWar on cancer. "I struggled for the loss of self-esteem after being diagnosed, and many people affected by cancer also report to lose their sense of identity and objective, as well as to fight with inevitable pity received of those around them. "

When we hear about "blood transfusions", we generally imagine that they exist to replace the lost blood during surgery. This is often the case, but blood transfusions can also be an energy solution of the following level.

"I was amazed by the immediate stimulating energy that blood transfusions have provided me while I passed chemotherapy," says Hodgkin's lymphoma survivorStephenie Lai, which has experienced 20 blood transfusions and platelets before entering the remission and now works for theAmerican Red Cross. "During my chemo treatments, I would really feel exhausted and blood transfusions gave me the stimulation of the energy I needed. After the first time, I received a blood transfusion, my nurse even noticed the difference right away. "

Cancer can be changing from life, but it also leaves many people with a sense of renewal or transformed, leading them to direct their energy to neglected projects or to find a new importance in what they do. Instead of an end of life, this can mean the beginning of a new one.

"Most people think that cancer is a death penalty and there are many people who have lost many family members because of this," says Bolin. "I want people to remember that two in three patients survive and that many people coming out of cancer will come out of it a happier person, because living by the disease gives you a precious knowledge and an appreciation of life. . "