“The beginning ... diagnosis”

 

You have been told you have cancer – and very often that is all you hear. Your mind becomes overwhelmed by that word – the “c” word – and very often that word is then followed by - the “d” word. You may feel like your world has been completely turned upside down and that your life, as you have known it, has come to a screeching halt. You may also feel like you will never be normal or have normalcy in your life again and, most of all, you may feel a very deeply rooted sense of fear, anxiety and helplessness.

 

This website is here to help provide you with the tools that will assist you in taking back your life, turning your world right side up, and allowing you to start taking those steps that will move you forward so you can walk through the darkness into the light and turn all that is negative into all that is positive. These tools will help you to be in control of what is happening and to enable you to play an instrumental role in your healing and wellness.

 

The word “terminal” is also one that comes frequently to mind as soon as someone hears the word “cancer.” However, ‘terminal’ has more than one meaning . If you go to a bus, train or airline terminal you are embarking on a journey. On this journey you will travel many different roads and paths, some may be very easy, smooth and level and others may be more difficult, very crooked and filled with rocks. Sometimes you will be climbing mountains, striving to reach the top and with inner strength, determination and staying focused you can achieve your goal and it will fill you with great exhilaration and a wonderful sense of accomplishment.

 

Cancer does not define you – you are not breast, prostate, lung, ovarian, melanoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, multiple myeloma, leukemia, brain, sarcoma, thyroid, esophageal, pancreatic, stomach, kidney or any other kind of cancer. You are you – an extraordinary and unique individual – and no one and nothing can take that away from you.

 

In today’s world cancer is considered a chronic illness, like multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, emphysema, etc. There are so many new drugs to help treat cancer, whether it is the medications that make up the various chemotherapies, or the medications that help to decrease the side-effects of those chemotherapy treatments. The pharmaceutical companies are constantly researching and discovering new and more improved medicines that fight the battle against cancer and are allowing patients to live a longer, happier and better quality of life.

 

You are beginning a new journey – one that is filled with challenges. This website will help you move beyond these challenges by educating and empowering you. Explore the many links we have listed under “Nutrition” and also under “Educational Resources”. Always remember that knowledge is power and that you have the right and the freedom to make choices about your life and this diagnosis does not change that fact. Those people who are most successful in overcoming their diagnosis are the ones who take control of their lives and who do not allow themselves to become victims. What are your dreams? If this were a perfect world, what would you like to accomplish? Know that nothing is impossible if you set your mind to it. In some way, no matter how big or small, make your answers to these questions the goals you strive to achieve on your journey to overcome and successfully defeat the “c” word.