Cancer Survivorship Is a Process, Not an Ending

One phrase I get tired of hearing lately is that something is a process. This word is often over-used and applies to anything from life crisis to learning how to cook! However, now I am going to used that phrase.

Movies are fictional, and we all know that. Still, it frustrates me how cancer is often portrayed: In some stories, the person dies, while in others, they are cured and go on to live a long, healthy, pain-free life.

There is a real fallacy with cancer that once we are in remission or no longer must go to treatment, everything will go back to normal. The ringing of the bell is “the end.”

This could not be further from the truth. Rare is the cancer survivor who is back to “normal.” Every type of cancer is systemic, meaning it affects all areas of the body. Sometimes surgeons can cut out the tumor and there are no side effects. More often, there are serious side effects for a long time — and maybe forever. Patients can suffer various side effects like lymphedema, fear that it can still spread, debilitating fatigue or pain at the site where it originated. 

Even after surgery and the ringing of the bell, breast cancer survivors may need more rounds of chemo and radiation. Radiation burns the skin, resulting in pain and nasty scars. Patients who have had their intestines partially removed are in constant pain and may have colostomies which are anything but pleasant. Those of us with blood cancers suffer constant fatigue, aching of the legs and other parts of the body as the blood strains to get to all parts of the body and, in my case, permanent hearing loss resulted from the chemo. I also will be in treatment for the rest of my life and have been undergoing monthly treatments for 16 years.

I researched some of the side effects and the list was a sobering and long one. Fatigue, hair loss, nausea and vomiting, difficulty eating and swallowing, low blood cell counts, emotional issues, cognitive issues, organ damage and fertility issues are all a possibility. Families and friends suffer right along with patients as they attempt to help.

Yes, we are alive and most of the time very thankful. But we will never be the same. We miss our breasts, hate our colostomy bags and wish for one day of feeling good with no fatigue.

However, life doesn’t work that way. Life is messy and there are ups and downs and roller coaster rides. Sometimes we must lay back for a while and other times push though the walls of pain and fear. This is the part one never sees in the movies, but we see it in real life. I do not want to be negative, but there are positives too. I have watched many patients overcome more than we can ever dream. We know recovering is a process and somehow, someway, we muddle through and do the best we can.

Life (and cancer) is messy and unpredictable and hard, but people are always stronger than they think. We are survivors to the core.

This piece reflects the author’s personal experience and perspective. For medical advice, please consult your health care provider.

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