Yes, that positive attitude is sometimes very hard to find. Even though you know it’s a good attitude that is going to carry you through the worst of cancer treatment. I found the following post on a Facebook page, and copied it for my own reference. I’m sharing it here, hoping it can help each of us who just wants understanding from those around us.. I think it says a lot about the need for the emotional side and fear going through this dreaded disease. I like the comment that there needs to be a time to “grieve”.

“I was very fortunate to have been diagnosed early. But still, it is challenging to feel ‘whole’ again. What many people overlook is the emotional trauma that goes along with diagnosis. I was lucky to have the support at the Huntsman Institute for the emotional side of cancer also. My body has now been declared ’cancer free’ following treatment, but my emotions are still sometimes very raw.

It has been reported that after a chemo treatment, it can take years until you feel alive again ... with the side effects of chemotherapy and/or radiation you will never be 100% because your immune system has been weakened.

Certainly, in the most difficult moment of life you realize who your real family and friends are, or the people who truly appreciate and love you. They allow you the time and space to ‘grieve’ the health, happiness, and security, you once had-and likely will never have again. These are the people who do not take you for granted, or make light of the emotional trauma you experience by their self centered demands of you. As a cancer patient you know they don’t mean to be selfish, their behaviors and demands are your clue that they just do not understand-even those they truly believe they do.

Cancer is a very aggressive and destructive enemy of our bodies. Even after cessation of treatment, the body remains broken, even in an attempt to repair the damage caused by the treatment to combat the disease. It is a very long process.

Don’t overlook the trauma of the emotions cancer patients go through during their long journey, and the likelyhood that life changed drastically for them with no ability to go back to the security they once felt.”