When surgery is looming, finding the people, practices, activities and rituals that speak to you, that give you grounding and meaning is the place to start. Here are some ways that I prepared emotionally for my surgery after a cancer diagnosis.
Tag: Emotional Healing
The Trauma Hangover
When it All Comes Crashing Down Spoiler, I don’t have pancreatic cancer. Currently there is no looming new cancer diagnosis that I know of, but to commit that to words feels like spitting in the wind. I’m giving away the ending to spare my loved ones from the dramatic suspense, the hanging cliff that writers… Continue reading The Trauma Hangover
Healing those Hidden Wounds
In my work with cancer survivors, there are different ways that this need for emotional work expresses itself. Here are just a few. Do you find yourself falling into any of these traps?
Freedom: Experiencing a Full Range of Emotions
"the degree to which you can own your own darkness is the degree to which you can own your light."
Finding the Path Through the Pain: a Roadmap to Rebuilding Your Life After Cancer
After treatment ends, and the “Survivor Confetti” is swept away, there are unique challenges for the younger cancer survivor. While much of the focus is on the newly diagnosed, and the actual fight to overcome cancer, little is discussed about this latter part of the healing journey. As a 3 year survivor, I know firsthand… Continue reading Finding the Path Through the Pain: a Roadmap to Rebuilding Your Life After Cancer
Coping with Loss after Cancer
There is a raw wordless ache in my core. When I start to approach it, it builds into a fire that agitates my whole system and threatens to engulf the whole of me. It’s in my pulse and my blood. My scalp prickles and my hair hurts. I itch all over. My hands are restless,… Continue reading Coping with Loss after Cancer
Melissa's Healing Hope 