By Susan Gubar — 2019
Ten years after diagnosis, could I finally dispense with chemical sleeping aids?
Read on www.nytimes.com
CLEAR ALL
It’s far from news that there is a lack of space and resources allocated for Black women to heal.
Caregivers often find themselves exhausted at the end of the day, but many are still not able to sleep.
It is no wonder that most caregivers lack sleep. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says 37 percent of all caregivers report insufficient sleep. But caregiver sleep loss goes beyond missing a few hours to binge-watch a favorite show. It is a constant decline in sleep quantity and quality.
Information and conversation are key to facing the challenges of care
We each have the power within ourselves to make this diagnosis seem like a gift. Use it to weed out the toxic relationships and reinforce the positive support squad you deserve.
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You not calling, as a friend, can actually compound the grief and loss they are feeling. Just pick up the phone, even if you get it wrong, just have a conversation and do your best. Your friend with cancer is still the same person they were before.
A common sentiment among cancer survivors is that having cancer really tells you who your friends are.
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Imagine being at risk for 12 cancers. Welcome to a life in limbo.
Until I had doctors remove my breasts and rebuild them again, I was a feminist who never saw herself as particularly feminine. Since then, I’ve questioned my feminist cred and tossed out my jeans in favor of dresses.
When Robert Bruce, of El Dorado, Calif., was diagnosed in March 2011 with stage-4 melanoma, he already had tumors on his head, lungs, ribs and lymph nodes. Bruce said his cancer wasn’t a case of his body betraying him, but actually the reverse: “I betrayed my own body.”