In case you haven't noticed, the "theme" of this week is voicing my appreciation. This got kicked off by the bald soldiers and I just figured I should start saying thank you more often.
Today, I wanted to share with y'all the group that has probably been the most influential in maintaining my sanity.
The Young Survivor's Coalition
This is basically a support group dedicated to women under the age of 40 diagnosed with breast cancer. It's this great online community of women. They have online discussion boards, online support groups, and even have an annual conference every year so you can meet all of your virtual friends.
Why women under 40? Because cancer at a younger age looks alot different than cancer when you're older. What I mean by that is there is a whole different set of "issues" that you face in your personal life when you're younger. Younger kids. Newer marriages. A desire to have kids after treatment. And lots more.
And this support group has been sanity saving for me. In the first 2 months after diagnosis while I was going through the whole awful mess that was my life, I could go there and say anything. And they got it. It was such a great outlet for me. I could vent all the dirty, nasty, awful that was pent up inside and they could relate. Not that my friends and family couldn't, but there are just some things in life that you HAVE to experience before you can say "I totally understand".
It was also a great resource for knowledge about cancer and treatment. Chances are if you had questions about anything, there was someone there that had been through it before and could share their experience with you. It made navigating that whole world of diagnosis and treatment plans alot less scary. Instead, it became almost empowering. I could go to my doctor with questions instead of having him just tell me what I should do.
I don't think I can say enough about this organization. I just wanted to share this with you so that if you are younger with cancer (and no 40 isn't a "hard" number, just a guideline) or if you know anyone that is, you can let them know about this group. I know support groups aren't for everyone, but its better to know about a resource and choose not to take part than to feel like you're missing that support.
To stick with the theme of the week, a huge thank you to all the YSC girls.
Today, I wanted to share with y'all the group that has probably been the most influential in maintaining my sanity.
The Young Survivor's Coalition
This is basically a support group dedicated to women under the age of 40 diagnosed with breast cancer. It's this great online community of women. They have online discussion boards, online support groups, and even have an annual conference every year so you can meet all of your virtual friends.
Why women under 40? Because cancer at a younger age looks alot different than cancer when you're older. What I mean by that is there is a whole different set of "issues" that you face in your personal life when you're younger. Younger kids. Newer marriages. A desire to have kids after treatment. And lots more.
And this support group has been sanity saving for me. In the first 2 months after diagnosis while I was going through the whole awful mess that was my life, I could go there and say anything. And they got it. It was such a great outlet for me. I could vent all the dirty, nasty, awful that was pent up inside and they could relate. Not that my friends and family couldn't, but there are just some things in life that you HAVE to experience before you can say "I totally understand".
It was also a great resource for knowledge about cancer and treatment. Chances are if you had questions about anything, there was someone there that had been through it before and could share their experience with you. It made navigating that whole world of diagnosis and treatment plans alot less scary. Instead, it became almost empowering. I could go to my doctor with questions instead of having him just tell me what I should do.
I don't think I can say enough about this organization. I just wanted to share this with you so that if you are younger with cancer (and no 40 isn't a "hard" number, just a guideline) or if you know anyone that is, you can let them know about this group. I know support groups aren't for everyone, but its better to know about a resource and choose not to take part than to feel like you're missing that support.
To stick with the theme of the week, a huge thank you to all the YSC girls.
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