CANCER – A WAY TO COPE
You Don’t Have To Do It Alone!
COPING WITH CANCER
By Diane Rohlfs
According to the American Cancer Society, most people diagnosed with cancer will survive. However having cancer is scary and many people fear the treatment, the pain and the disruption that occurs in their lives.
Managing the pain and intense discomfort of treatment as well as the emotional trauma of having cancer can be overwhelming. Many times the treatment that makes you well will also make you feel miserable. Being able to withstand the discomfort from procedures such as chemotherapy is important to the healing process.
Hypnosis can be an excellent compliment to traditional cancer treatment. In essence, hypnosis is a means of communication between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind. While the conscious mind is selective and critical, the subconscious mind does not judge and is receptive to the power of suggestion. Experienced hypnotherapists have many techniques and procedures to assist in overcoming the side-effects of treatment, including nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite and insomnia and focuses on creating positive attitudes that helps bring peace and joy to your life.
Hypnosis is safe, there is no loss of personality, free will or personal strength and one cannot be hypnotized against their will. It does however depend on the willingness of the client to experience the hypnosis.
You do not have to do it alone! Experienced, certified hypnotherapists at A+ Hypnosis are available for help and support in dealing with cancer as well as other serious illnesses.
Cancer
You don’t have to do it alone.
By Diane Rohlfs
At A+ Hypnosis Wellness Center we understand what you are going thru. In 2001 I was told that I had a mass on my thyroid gland that had to be removed. I was told only 27% of cases are malignant so not to worry.
I went for all the normal tests and then came the day of surgery. I was scared and I wanted to know the results of the biopsy even before they started the surgery. Sound familiar? I made everyone I knew swear they would tell me the minute I awoke what the results of the biopsy were. Surgery only lasted 4 hours and I was back in my room. Of course I was under sedation and asked everyone who came into the room what the preliminary biopsy results were. I’m sure this drove everyone crazy. The first time it really stuck in my head that the preliminary biopsy was negative was early evening and I remember as if it were yesterday that I thought my prayers had been answered.
I was discharged a couple of days later and told that I wouldn’t be able to talk or really know if my voice box had been damaged for two weeks. Just go home, recuperate from the surgery and in about two weeks we will have you come to the office and remove the stitches. I was relieved and drained all at the same time.
Two weeks went by pretty uneventfully. I did get my voice back and I was really looking forward to getting the stitches out and going back to work. Finally the day had arrived and I was making plans to go back to work as soon as the stitches were out. I got to the doctor’s office and I waited and I waited and I waited some more, as many of us do now at a doctor’s office. They finally called my name and I went in and waited about half an hour more.
The doctor came in and introduced himself and explained that my surgeon had retired right after my surgery and he had taken over my case. He started talking about setting up a time for me to come in and start my radiation treatments. I looked at him in dismay and proceeded to explain to him that he had picked up the wrong chart on the way into my room. I was only there to have my stitches removed and I would be on my way. After all I had been told that the biopsy was benign in the hospital. He asked if my name was Diane and I said yes and he proceeded to tell me that he had the correct chart and that I had Cancer and would have to undergo radiation treatments. I’m sorry someone was supposed to call you. The lab reports came back showing that the tumor was in fact malignant.
I was stunned and totally at a loss for words. I felt all the blood drain from my face and I thought that I would pass out. I’m sure he said a lot more but I just kept hearing him say the tumor was malignant over and over in my head.
The radiation treatments started a few weeks later and I realized that I had become a statistic.
During those trying times I first went thru denial. I thought this couldn’t be happening to me. I kept thinking the doctor would find out there had been a mistake and call to tell me. Of course there had not been a mistake. I went thru anger. I was angry that I had not been told in a better way, as if there was a better way to find out that you have cancer. I went thru the why me stage. Wondering what I had done to cause God to punish me in this way. I could tell that my family didn’t know what to say or how to act around me. I knew that they were hurting also but none of us knew how to discuss it or even bring it up. We felt as if there was an elephant in the living room and we just kept walking around it. I became isolated and sad but didn’t know what to do about the situation.
I had a need to talk to someone, but who would understand. I couldn’t talk to my family after all they were going thru their own feelings. I researched everything on thyroid Cancer that I could find and read article after article on the subject. People kept telling me that if you had to have cancer this was the best kind to have. Somehow, at the time, that wasn’t comforting.
I discovered an article that told how hypnosis could help by changing how I felt about my situation and how I dealt with the cancer and with my family and friends. I found out that Hypnosis could help to lessen the pain, enhance the Immune System, create positive expectations, and help with eating habits since I could hardly swallow after the treatments. Hypnosis could help me with my own self-image as the scar on my neck made me look and feel like Frankenstein’s monster. It could help me get my mood swings under control and really put some control back into my life at a time when I felt totally out of control. Mood swings are the most confusing things to friends and family because you really do feel hopeless one minute and hopeful the next depending on the medication and the day-to-day events of normal life. Hypnosis could help me reject the negativity that I felt.
Hypnosis can’t cure Cancer but it sure made my recovery a lot less stressful and I learned that the road to recovery is thru laughter and positive thoughts. In my hypnotherapist I had found someone I could talk to honestly and confidentially no matter what I was feeling at the time.
So if you are experiencing a change in sleep habits or a sense of loss because your fiends don’t know what to say or do, or if you have any of the previously discussed feelings, let us help. At A+ Hypnosis Wellness Center we really do know how you feel and we are here to help you and will be here for support after your treatment is completed.
Ask your doctor how Hypnosis can help in your treatment. We will work with your doctor to help insure you get the results you want. Check out more articles on this and other subjects at our web site www.aplushypnosis.com
My name is Diane Rohlfs and I am now a Clinical Hypnotherapist helping people just like you and I go thru life with a little more piece of mind.