Ongoing “Survivor” Conversation
This month’s conversation about what “survivor” means to many of us continues on, but let’s look back on the many ideas that have come up so far, there were some disagreements… Continue…
| 6 Comments | CommentSurvivor
The word survivor might seem clear-cut, but what does it really mean? This month we will be thinking and writing about what it is to survive cancer. When can we say that a person affected by this disease has survived? Is surviving something that happens once, or over and over again each day? How do those supporting a patient with cancer, either personally or professionally, understand and deal with the complicated meanings of the word?
The Survivor in Me
Patient |
Breaking from the ‘Survivor’ Label
As more and more people are living with cancer and as the healthcare community is working hard to incorporate this reality into an evolving model of care, this word ‘survivor’ is taking on greater significance…
| 2 Comments | CommentMore Than a Survivor
As I think of the term “survivor”, what comes to mind are figures of people who have lived through something horrific- war, famine, tornadoes, natural disasters; those who have walked through the darkness and…
| 4 Comments | CommentSeven Years of Survival
Patient |
When I finished treatment, I didn’t talk with other survivors. I didn’t come back in for any groups that were offered because all I wanted to do was get into the car and drive the hour home. But, everyone around me…
| 1 Comment | CommentThe End of the Survival Story?
My mother survived cancer.
This is an accurate statement, but putting it in the past tense always makes me a little nervous, because for me the word is never a complete process… Continue…
| 1 Comment | CommentCancer
Patient |
By: Jennifer Parker
They say that cancer kills,
That it can even steal your soul
They say that cancer kills… Continue…
A New Normal
The word survivor conveys so much in the cancer world. Technically speaking, in our clinics, from the moment you are diagnosed with cancer, you are considered a survivor and we have a range of services to support patients. There are three main stages of survivorship,…
| 6 Comments | CommentStruggling with Survivorship
Patient |
I have always struggled with the word survivor. At what point did I become a cancer survivor? Was it the day that I met with my MGH team to come up with a plan, was it the day that chemo ended, the last radiation treatment, the breast reconstruction?
| 1 Comment | CommentSurviving to Prosper
The term survivor brings to memory a recent conversation I had with Ms. Jones (not real name) who had completed adjuvant chemotherapy for her breast cancer. I remarked “Congratulations! You are now a cancer survivor”. She excitedly exclaimed “So I am cancer-free!!!?”…
| 1 Comment | CommentSurvivors Don’t Yield
When my mother got lung cancer, I wanted Survivor to become her new title, her latest achievement. I was convinced she’d “beat” this thing and we’d come out afterwards, advocating for others. Maybe we’d walk 5Ks together and talk about how she’d defeated cancer…
| 2 Comments | Comment