wondering...

elizabethgd

All of you are such wonderful people. The compassion, humor, openess devotion,truthfulness and love you all share with each other is unique. My question is...were you always like this, or did you achieve these higher levels of human emotional development after you had diagnosis?

Shayenne

I actually...
....haven't changed a bit! I have always been open, I have a warped sense of humor, naughty minded, happy, I think the only thing that changed about me since my dx is that I don't take anything for granted anymore, and appreciate everything and everyone around me more. Otherwise, I actually seen some people with cancer who get real mean and angry, but I can't judge them because I have no idea what their lives were like before and after dx, I just try to put a smile on someone's face everyday, whether I feel lousy or not, and believe me, I get into my bad moods, but try to snap out of it real quick, by thinking, there are others out there who have it way worse then I do.

Hugssss~
Donna

Annabelle41415

I haven't Changed
Actually I was in the doctor's the other day waiting in line to get my blood drawn and the technician finally called me in and said thank you for being so patient. I was carrying on a conversation with him and he said are you always this upbeat and pleasant. I said I just am this way.

I always try to be pleasant and kind even when I'm feeling down and believe me being happy all the time when have cancer is never going to happen. Take the good with the bad and don't be afraid to show you are scared or hurting.

I love life and doing everything to make it better and pleasant is what I am going to do. Being miserable isn't going to make me happy or anyone around me.

Hugs!

Kim

tootsie1

Changed a little
I think I'm more compassionate since my diagnosis. I always that in me, but I think I feel people's hurt and worry more and know that's like. Otherwise, I'm pretty much the same, I think.

*hugs*
Gail

Buzzard

tootsie1 said:

Changed a little
I think I'm more compassionate since my diagnosis. I always that in me, but I think I feel people's hurt and worry more and know that's like. Otherwise, I'm pretty much the same, I think.

*hugs*
Gail

Its simply the people that your around.........
How can you be in here for a while and not become one of these people..Its so soothing to come in and relax (most of the time..LOL) and to be with individuals who know exactly what you are thinking....Its like a second home where I can go and actually feel welcome and loved. If you weren't a compassionate person before you came in here...you will be before you leave.....

tiny one

change
I can tell that my views and my outlook on life is somewhat different than other survivors. I was like this before diagnosis. The longer I'm a survivor the more I seem to get angry at my side effects. I deal with side effects every day. What changed me the most in my life has been the stress of losing my parents. Just life in general, raising kids. Working in the public and seeing how harsh people can be to each other. Now the kids are grown, I'm retired. I still deal with pain every day from radiation, every time I'm in the bathroom I'm reminded of my struggle. I just want to put cancer in the back of my mind, lock it in a room and throw the key away.

eric38

I`ve always believed in
I`ve always believed in treating other people with respect and kindness but cancer has brought it to a whole new level. I pay more attention to the little things and appreciate people more. I am also more apt to share thing I never would have before and tell people the nice things we sometimes hold back. For instance, if I see a good quality in a person or I think a woman is pretty I am more apt to tell them. (without being creepy of course) the whole idea is to treat people with respect and kindness.

lmliess

eric38 said:

I`ve always believed in
I`ve always believed in treating other people with respect and kindness but cancer has brought it to a whole new level. I pay more attention to the little things and appreciate people more. I am also more apt to share thing I never would have before and tell people the nice things we sometimes hold back. For instance, if I see a good quality in a person or I think a woman is pretty I am more apt to tell them. (without being creepy of course) the whole idea is to treat people with respect and kindness.

without being creepy.....
that just cracked me up!!!!!

spongebob

IT'S THE BROWNIES
Actually, elizabethgd,

I know a lot of these people and I'm here to tell you they were extremely uptight, close-lipped, and humorless. Then someone broke out the medicinal MJ and all that changed!

In all seriousness, though, I was a bit more uptight than I am now before my Dx. Life's too short to be anal-retentive (and now it's just a medical impossibility).

;-)

SpongeBob

VickiCO

Good Question
I would like to think I was always like this. However, I was work-obsessed, type double A before and one thing that my DX changed is that I have mellowed a great deal. I spend way more time with family and friends now. The work still gets done, but I have learned a new word...delegate! It has improved my attitude tremendously.

Vicki

Hatshepsut

VickiCO said:

Good Question
I would like to think I was always like this. However, I was work-obsessed, type double A before and one thing that my DX changed is that I have mellowed a great deal. I spend way more time with family and friends now. The work still gets done, but I have learned a new word...delegate! It has improved my attitude tremendously.

Vicki

You talkin' to me?

Sorry. I seem to have posted this twice.

Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut

VickiCO said:

Good Question
I would like to think I was always like this. However, I was work-obsessed, type double A before and one thing that my DX changed is that I have mellowed a great deal. I spend way more time with family and friends now. The work still gets done, but I have learned a new word...delegate! It has improved my attitude tremendously.

Vicki

You talkin' to me?
Elizabeth:

You Wrote:

"All of you are such wonderful people. The compassion, humor, openess devotion,truthfulness and love you all share with each other is unique. My question is...were you always like this, or did you achieve these higher levels of human emotional development after you had diagnosis?"

You talkin' to me? (to quote a famous line).

I hope I have some of the good qualities to which you refer. (I do agree with you that the CSN board is a unique resource with many kind, knowledgeable and caring people who inform you when you need to be informed and who embrace and comfort you when you need support.)

I think the fundamental (and truly important) question you pose is whether a cancer diagnosis, with all its awful negatives, also has a positive transformative effect on people who are diagnosed with the disease and on their families.

I can only speak from my experience, but I think it can. Cancer, I think, grabs you and shakes you in a way you have never before been shaken-- making you realize how important it is to really live every moment, sensitizing you to the suffering of others, and giving you a keener sense of appreciation for those who offer you kindness.

I hope your experience with cancer will be gentle.

Hatshepsut

elizabethgd

Hatshepsut said:

You talkin' to me?
Elizabeth:

You Wrote:

"All of you are such wonderful people. The compassion, humor, openess devotion,truthfulness and love you all share with each other is unique. My question is...were you always like this, or did you achieve these higher levels of human emotional development after you had diagnosis?"

You talkin' to me? (to quote a famous line).

I hope I have some of the good qualities to which you refer. (I do agree with you that the CSN board is a unique resource with many kind, knowledgeable and caring people who inform you when you need to be informed and who embrace and comfort you when you need support.)

I think the fundamental (and truly important) question you pose is whether a cancer diagnosis, with all its awful negatives, also has a positive transformative effect on people who are diagnosed with the disease and on their families.

I can only speak from my experience, but I think it can. Cancer, I think, grabs you and shakes you in a way you have never before been shaken-- making you realize how important it is to really live every moment, sensitizing you to the suffering of others, and giving you a keener sense of appreciation for those who offer you kindness.

I hope your experience with cancer will be gentle.

Hatshepsut

Thank you

Thank you