Coming Out
Mar 1st 2008PostmasterSurvivorship & Uncategorized & Working Life
So Henry is Doug. You have seen several posts under the name “Henry” (which is my middle name) talking about a recurrence of my cancer and my treatment with salvage radiation therapy. I haven’t been posting as much as I would have liked because I was focused on finishing my treatment and also on updating my soon-to-be-published book. Recurrence can add a whole new dimension to the cancer journey, to say the least.
What is most telling, though, is that I felt the need to mask my identity. I am a professional with a job, a family to support and responsibilities. Coping with cancer on top of all of this is hard enough, but I was frankly worried about how a recurrence could impact my career now and in the future. It is unfortunately true that many people, upon hearing that you have cancer, automatically think of you as sick and dying. Yes, it can impact your work while you are being treated and while you are dealing with the emotional shock of a diagnosis but, for the vast majority of us, we can very quickly get back to work. We may have to do it part-time for awhile, particularly if our jobs are physical, but we can still work.
The cancer survivors that I know are some of the strongest people I have ever met. If you can handle a major life crisis like cancer and survive, I would argue that you can handle just about anything. That’s certainly how I feel about myself and how I think about anyone with cancer. I wish everyone thought that.
In my case, both with my initial diagnosis and also with my recent recurrence, I have been pleasantly surprised at the response. Telling people at work hasn’t hurt me at all and I am infinitely thankful for the support I have received. I wish everyone was so understanding.
I am a survivor and I am strong.
Posted by Doug
1 Comment »
One Mother with Cancer on 14 Mar 2008 at 1:25 pm #
I found that a lot of people really surprised me!!! I had neighbors that I had never met who noticed that my mother was putting my children on the bus, they stopped her to ask about it and upon hearing about my diagonises they brought my family dinners, food, and even Christmas. Everyone at work was really supportive they had a small auction and raised $500.00 for my family at Christmas time (with 4 kids it was a huge relief).
My sister was a little leary of coming to the hospital to see me (because she thought that I was going to die, and she was scared) but she came around. All in all I had a bigger support system than I ever knew I had.
I hope everything goes well with your book, and hope you start feeling better soon.