By Lizon Logan
've run into women with breast cancer who have no idea what type of cancer they have. This concerned me because after a while, I started noticing a pattern amongst the women who knew what they had, and those who didn't.
Now, before I go any further, please understand that I'm not saying you HAVE to deal with cancer in a certain way. But, what I noticed was that the women who took a proactive, "I'm going to beat this" approach knew what kind of cancer they had. Those who were terrified (and rightly so) didn't know the type. (I also saw an age difference. Older breast cancer patients usually didn' know, but that's a generational issue usually.) I'm talking about younger women with breast cancer.
When young women couldn't tell me what type of cancer they had, there was usually an accompanying sense of defeat - a sense of palpable fear that it was just a matter of time. (Again, fear is totally understandable - a lack of fear would be worrisome.)
Fear and cancer is not a combination that helps with healing.
However, knowledge is power, and understanding can allay fears. Otherwise, our imaginations have a tendency to run wild with all kinds of dire possibilities.
When you can name something, you can know it better. When you name something, you have power over it. (This may sound odd to add here - but when Jesus cast out demons, he always asked their name first. Why? There's power in knowing a name.)
That's why I'd encourage all women with breast cancer (or anyone with any cancer) to know the name for what you have. Then you can know what it's like and how it works - and most importantly, you can know how to defeat it. (And maybe even MORE importantly, you can be on the lookout for remedies and solutions that your doctor may not suggest - like meditation or reflexology or essential oils, and it goes without saying that you should ALWAYS run alternative therapies by your healthcare team.)
Knowing exactly what you have puts YOU in the driver's seat, and gives you more power to make informed decisions.
If for no other reason, knowing the name of the cancer will allow you to get a specific image of it in your mind. This alone will get rid of a lot of confusion, and since confusion leads directly to fear, this will help you beat the disease.
Now, before I go any further, please understand that I'm not saying you HAVE to deal with cancer in a certain way. But, what I noticed was that the women who took a proactive, "I'm going to beat this" approach knew what kind of cancer they had. Those who were terrified (and rightly so) didn't know the type. (I also saw an age difference. Older breast cancer patients usually didn' know, but that's a generational issue usually.) I'm talking about younger women with breast cancer.
When young women couldn't tell me what type of cancer they had, there was usually an accompanying sense of defeat - a sense of palpable fear that it was just a matter of time. (Again, fear is totally understandable - a lack of fear would be worrisome.)
Fear and cancer is not a combination that helps with healing.
However, knowledge is power, and understanding can allay fears. Otherwise, our imaginations have a tendency to run wild with all kinds of dire possibilities.
When you can name something, you can know it better. When you name something, you have power over it. (This may sound odd to add here - but when Jesus cast out demons, he always asked their name first. Why? There's power in knowing a name.)
That's why I'd encourage all women with breast cancer (or anyone with any cancer) to know the name for what you have. Then you can know what it's like and how it works - and most importantly, you can know how to defeat it. (And maybe even MORE importantly, you can be on the lookout for remedies and solutions that your doctor may not suggest - like meditation or reflexology or essential oils, and it goes without saying that you should ALWAYS run alternative therapies by your healthcare team.)
Knowing exactly what you have puts YOU in the driver's seat, and gives you more power to make informed decisions.
If for no other reason, knowing the name of the cancer will allow you to get a specific image of it in your mind. This alone will get rid of a lot of confusion, and since confusion leads directly to fear, this will help you beat the disease.
About the Author:
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