Kicking the Big C to the Curb: Coping with Your Cancer Diagnosis

You’ve just been diagnosed with cancer.

But, not just any cancer.

Mesothelioma.

For most, it’s a death sentence.

But, for you, there might just be a way out.

Here are some simple steps for coping with your diagnosis.

Assemble Your A-Team

Cancer survivors all have one thing in common: they never go it alone.

You need an “A-Team” to help you through this.

In other words, you need a support team.

Your support team will help you mostly emotionally, but they may also support

you financially.

This will be one of the hardest things you do in life, if not the hardest.

Most mesothelioma survival cases are epic battles and you will probably walk away

from it with permanent scars, emotionally and physically.

That’s why it’s important to have people around you that love and care about you.

First, it may be the last time they see you alive – which is hard in and of itself.

But, secondly, they can help you push through this and come out on the other side.

Set Some Ground Rules

Set ground rules for how much you want to know about your disease and the treatment options.

Some people get so frustrated by the very fact of their illness that they don’t want to know

anything about it.

They just want to either die or let the doctor deal with it.

If you are the type of person who wants to know everything, ask your doctor for as much

information as possible.

Most doctors will be understanding and will accommodate you if you need to know the gory

details about how the cancer starts, how it progresses, and how it ultimately ends.

Also be straight with your doctor about how you want your treatment to go.

While a doctor will give you lots of options, you don’t have to consider them all.

And, you’re free to go get a second opinion – even if that means medical tourism and traveling

to a different country for treatment.

But, at the same time, you need to be realistic.

Cancer is an illness that controls you, not the other way around.

So, ask your doctor about side effects of the treatment, what to expect progression-wise,

what you can and cannot expect in terms of remission and regression of any tumors.

Depending on how advanced it is, it may be difficult or impossible to treat effectively with

conventional therapies.

Decide On Your Goal

What do you want out of the treatment?

It seems like an obvious question, right?

But, it’s actually difficult to answer.

Most people want a cure.

But, a cure doesn’t (presently) exist.

So, the next-best option for most people is regression and remission.

If your body can heal from the cancer, then you won’t have it anymore.

Whether that’s achieved using modern medicine like new surgical procedures and chemotherapy,

older treatments like Coley’s Vaccine, or a combination of surgery and bacterial therapy (or newer

experimental viral therapies), you need to have goals which are realistic an achievable given the

circumstances.

About the Author
Jake Rowe has worked in the healthcare industry for many years. With a wealth of knowledge just waiting to get out, he has recently taking to writing articles for health blogs, offering advice and information.

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