By Kelsey Ogletree — 2020
Figuring out what to say—or what not to say—can feel daunting.
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CLEAR ALL
When you need time off for cancer treatment, first get the facts. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 may be an option when you need to take a medical leave.
Whether it’s a chronic illness, a cancer diagnosis, or any other condition that will have you out of the office for multiple doctor’s appointments and potentially in need of special accommodations, a health issue raises complications far more difficult than trying to make sure you’ve...
With each diagnosis, knowing her life hung in the balance, she was “stunned, then anguished” and astonished by “how much energy it takes to get from the bad news to actually starting on the return path to health.”
I've written this piece partly because I hope it will make those of us with health difficulties feel less alone and partly because I hope it will help others understand how to communicate with us better. With that in mind, I hope you'll find it helpful.
A calm mind and even temper can help make peace with life’s difficulties.
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In the end, I fall back on one statement that I repeat to myself pretty often. “We are not given the burdens we deserve, we are given the burdens we can bear.”
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I’ve been disabled and intensely ill with the degenerative neuro-immuno illness myalgic encephalomyelitis (formerly known by the misnomer “chronic fatigue syndrome”) for 30 years.
A panel of experts has released guidelines stating that regular exercise can help prevent cancer as well as help people undergoing cancer treatment.
Understanding the patterns of reaction to a prolonged illness with perhaps years of remission and a significant chance of being cured will help you put your emotional survival in focus while your doctor concentrates on your physical survival.
After treatment ends, one of the most common concerns survivors have is that the cancer will come back. The fear of recurrence is very real and entirely normal. Although you cannot control whether the cancer returns, you can control how much the fear of recurrence affects your life.