Tuesday, June 17, 2008

June 17, 2008 - A Great Survivor?

Here’s Amy Gross, a social worker from Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, speaking on the subject of cancer survivorship. It’s a little on the long side: just over 10 minutes.

She touches on a couple significant topics that make an impression on me. First, Amy points out that there’s no road map to life as a survivor. This is in sharp contrast to the time of treatment, which for most of us was governed by detailed medical protocols. “Now what?” is the question many of us ask, once the last chemo or radiation treatment is ended – and even months and years later.

Second, she speaks of a sort of performance pressure some feel to be “great survivors” – after the example of certain celebrities, who have become poster children for survivorship.

What makes a great survivor? I think it’s being true to who we are, as people. No one of us will do it the same as anybody else.

Anyway, here’s the video:

2 comments:

Susan C said...

Hello Carl,
I just discovered your blog and it's been something of a God-send because I'm coping with the anxiety of relapse seven months after an auto stem cell transplant for mantle cell lymphoma (a non-Hodgkins lymphoma).

This Dana-Farber video is great. It addresses many of the feelings I'm experiencing.

Susan

Carl said...

Hi, Susan. Sorry to hear about your relapse. That must be really aggravating, after all you've gone through.

I haven't had the pleasure (ahem) yet of a stem-cell transplant, but it's something that could be in my future. I've had a preliminary work-up done at Hackensack University Medical Center, but my oncologist says now is not the time. (I'm in no hurry, mind you.)

I'm glad you're finding the blog helpful.

Carl