Going It Alone

Hal61

Hello Everyone, thanks to you all for the support I've been given over the last few months. I have for rads to go, and I'm done--chemo is finished. The information and support here have been invaluable for me, because I--I'm sure like others--am mainly on my own.

I have a wife from whom I am legally separated in town, and she has been an angel in offering to get things for me, and she took me to the hospital recently for a short stay as a result of the effects of my last chemo. I also have a brother in Florida who I email with and he is a source of hope and strength.

Those of you who have family and friends close, I know count them as blessings.

I'd like to know if any of you in the Fresno, CA area know of groups that meet on any schedule to simply talk. I've gotten information from the Cancer society I'll follow up on starting tomorrow to try and locate a group. But if any of you have any knowledge of such groups in my area I'd appreciate directions to find them.

I know that even the few minutes I spend speaking with other patients waiting for treatment are very healthy for me. Last week I was talking to a person with my--and many of our--cancers, and it felt so good just to share feelings about the little stuff, the treatment symptoms, the ropey mucous, etc. Just someone who feels what you feel makes you feel more than ever that you're not alone. I still will always participate in the board, as the people on here have been my family through this, and I will always be indebted to them for their kindness, their humor, and their humanity.
thanks, Hal61

Kent Cass

None Of Us Are Alone
Exactly, Hal, about not being alone. And, oh yeah, it is great to hear you are nearing the end of treatment. Hope you have turned the corner- to recovery, as I did with my hospital stay at the start of week #6. I still had over 10 rads yet to do, but the road back began at the end of my hospital stay.

And, I think it is really great- about your speaking with other Patients. Everybody wins with such as that: helping another helps oneself, and possibly to an equal or greater degree. Everybody wins, or is the better for it, Hal. Excellent.

kcass

thegirlfriend

Kent Cass said:

None Of Us Are Alone
Exactly, Hal, about not being alone. And, oh yeah, it is great to hear you are nearing the end of treatment. Hope you have turned the corner- to recovery, as I did with my hospital stay at the start of week #6. I still had over 10 rads yet to do, but the road back began at the end of my hospital stay.

And, I think it is really great- about your speaking with other Patients. Everybody wins with such as that: helping another helps oneself, and possibly to an equal or greater degree. Everybody wins, or is the better for it, Hal. Excellent.

kcass

your effect on those other patients
Id be willing to bet Hal, that as much as those other patients give you in just those few minutes of talking to them, you give as much if not more back to them, so yes, even a
stranger that has something as the big bad C in common with you is a godsend.
those few minutes with each others conversation, could very well mean more than some
people who have known others for a lifetime....

Keep talking......

SASH

Locals to talk to
The closest support group through SPOHNC is Paso Robles. I realize this isn't around the corner, but you might be able to talk to someone from the group via telephone. You can look up the chapter information at http://www.spohnc.org. They also do a National Survivor Volunteer Network (NSVN) where volunteers speak with others via telephone or e-mail. I was part of their Miami chapter for years and found it very beneficial for me as well as those that I was able to discuss issues that as Head and Neck survivors deal with as our new "normal".