Survivor's Blog February 12, 2014 - How I approached cancer with WWMD.

Much to my Doctor's dismay, the day after I was diagnosed I decided to approach cancer as I do my business. In real life, I run my own teaching business. I am responsible for my own marketing, budgeting , scheduling, and most importantly my future goals.

Since I had no other tools at my disposal, I decided to get organized and visualize a "Cancer Free" status just like I would visualize any other goal I set for myself. I hope these ideas help you too. Already, I have lived well past what the doctor's would have me believe was my expiration date.


 Here are the steps I followed to overcome a cancer diagnosis:

1. Organize a Cancer Binder-  This is just a big binder I made to organize my treatment. I made tabs for treatment options, caregivers, blood work, and tracking inside. Every time I go to the doctor I add to this binder. It allows me to keep track of what we have tried, what things work, and what  things do not. I keep it in my bedroom in case I have an emergency, any EMT or care giver can reference it.

2. Get a Mission Statement- " I am healthy and Cancer Free!" . I meditate on this every morning. I think this one simple sentence has helped me to convince my doctors to treat me as a healthy person who just happens to have cancer instead of a sick person on my way to the grave.

3. Find Inspiration- When I was hospitalized I was so sick I could barely move without assistance. I decided early on that I would try to follow my Cousin Mike's example, and face Cancer with as much grace and positive energy as I could muster! I remembered Mike's best friend,Patti, telling me that after his death she had bumper stickers made that said, "What would Mike do?", because Mike was the most inspirational person ever. Mike never complained, and he took life by the horns and lived every minute at full tilt!

So we put my inspiration "WWMD" on the white board across from my bed.  I could see that WWMD all day long. Every time I felt like giving up, I looked at that board and thought about what a wonderful life my cousin lived. It inspired me to follow his example and move forward.


4. Set Goals- Goals are ever changing but, you need to have something to work toward. So every time I have something new come up I reset or adjust my goals. They don't have to be realistic, you just have to set a goal so you have a reason to get out of bed and work toward something each day.

It really does not matter if treatment causes you to change them every day, a goal is just impetus to move forward. It can be as simple as "Today I am going to get out of bed and be up for 5 minutes".

5. Ask Questions- I have driven several doctor's crazy with this. For every appointment I attend, I bring a list of questions and a note book. At first, my oncologist was not comfortable with this- he thought I was questioning him and his expertise. I finally had to explain to him that I was asking questions so that I could understand what was happening to me. This way I could choose if I wanted to participate in what they were offering me or not. You have a right to say no to any treatment or any doctor you want. You also have a right to ask questions, take  notes, and participate fully in your healing!

6. Keep track- I use my cancer book and goals to keep track of how I am doing. I  never trust it to the doctors and nurses. Medical personnel are wonderful people but, they are only human. They have tons of patients to keep track of and mistakes are often made. You on  the other hand, just have you to keep track of. At first I used a chart, now I just use the notes I keep in my cancer book to stay clear on how I am progressing.

My Cousin Mike at Sunset Beach in California.