Cancerversary

Facing our own mortality is a bit like walking into a closed door - unexpected, shocking and it hurts. Most of us assume we will live to old age - although of course our idea of what is defined as old age changes as we get older! That’s because it’s difficult and confusing to imagine anything else. But very few of us know our prognosis, healthy or otherwise. Cancer makes the assumption of living a long time harder to maintain, and we resent that. But many of us will live a long time after a cancer diagnosis, it’s just that, like life without cancer, there are no guarantees. We understand that much better than we used to and it takes some adjusting to. Your medical people are doing their jobs, they all have specialised bits of physical treatment and healing to do and you will benefit by their knowledge but a counsellor may be much better able to help you reconstruct your sense of and faith in the future. Many of us have found even a short time with a skilled ‘outsider’ - not a friend or family member - has helped immensely. Best wishes.