Arlene Cotter - From This Moment On: A Guide for Those Recently Diagnosed with Cancer

A patient-to-patient introduction
to your cancer diagnosis that will help prepare
you for the challenging days ahead.

STOP
PREPARES YOU FOR THE JOURNEY

YIELD
EXPLORES THE ISSUES OF LIFE AND DEATH

GO
INVITES YOU TO LIVE YOUR LIFE WELL

So, its official. Youve been diagnosed with cancer.

This time its not some family member, acquaintance, or celebrityITS YOU.

Like it or not, youve joined the cancer movement. Youre one of them.

us People whose awareness of our own mortality has been irrevocably heightened.

More accurately, youre one of us.

And from this moment on

your life will never be the same .
Never.

Some things will be WORSE and some things will be BETTER

There will be many surprises but also discoveries.

In the days ahead, you will find YOUR OWN WAY to deal with your cancer diagnosis.

primer an introductory book or text.

Oxford Concise Dictionary

Fortunately, with some PERSPECTIVE, you can claim a measure of stability.

Thats where this primer can help you. Its a tool to guide you through your initial cancer diagnosis becauseif youre like most people, you probably

dont know what to expect

and that can be terrifying.

So take a good, deep breath and create an opportunity to read quietly. If you are unable to focus, ask someone you trust to read to you.

Then, get ready for a reality check because were going to take stock of the situationtogether.

And the situation is this:

You have a life-threatening disease that requires your IMMEDIATE attention.

At this moment, there is NOTHING more important than stopping EVERYTHING else that you are doing in order to consider this.

Why?

Because understanding YOUR ROLE in managing your own health is the ONLY thing that will allow you to

(continue to)

What does quality of life mean to you in specific terms?

live a life that has quality.

Think about it. No matter how much others may wish to help, you alone must initiate the healing journey.

This is the first step.

Staircase drawing by Henricus Hondius, c. 1751

Whatever your prognosis, you can prepare yourself for the challenging days ahead by accepting this fundamental truth:

It is completely within your control to choose how you will respond to the ways in which cancer is going to change your life.

And it WILL change your life.

There will be a steep learning curve characterized by all the usual mistakes, setbacks, frustrations, and hard-won rewards of any worthwhile experience.

While it may SEEM obvious, sometimes you may need to remind yourself that:

You have the diseasethe disease does not have you.

Brian Cronin, Man and Water Spouts (detail), 1997

India ink and acrylic on paper, 17 18 cm

Brian Cronin

This illustration first appeared in The Atlantic Monthly

everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedomsto choose ones attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose ones own way.

VICTOR FRANKL

Mans Search for Meaning

You are a living, breathing, thinking HUMAN BEING and cancer is only an illness. Youll be amazed at how quickly you can wrestle back some power for yourself by

SAYING THESE WORDS OUT LOUD:

How I respond to my cancer diagnosis is my choice.

HOW I RESPOND TO MY CANCER DIAGNOSIS IS MY CHOICE.

Try repeating this important message every single day until it becomes a habit.

Go ahead.

Choose any response youre comfortable with. Cancer is an ordeal, but it is also an opportunity. Exactly what kind of opportunity will be all up to you.

Once you experience the benefits that come from GOOD CHOICES, you will instinctively start behaving in a manner that will make things BETTER for youinstead of WORSE .

This is an important time. WHAT YOU DO RIGHT NOW will chart the course for the rest of your journey.

Thats why anything that helps you to feel better is a good idea. So, go aheaddare to visualize your own good health. It will make the journey more bearable than projecting despair and gloomeven if you can only pull it off 5% of the time in the beginning. With practice and some discipline, youll create a MAGNET for healthy thoughts, ideas, and encouragement.

No disease likes hope.

HINDU PROVERB

In time, cancer may become the CATALYST for a very personal transformation.

But many disturbing things will likely happen to you first.