Having worked with several terminally ill patients and cancer patients, I can tell you that all terminally ill cancer patients I have met have been in some form of denial over their condition. This is the reason I feel the need to write this worksheet answers to any terminally ill cancer patient.
The question is, “what does a terminally ill cancer patient want to hear?” They want to know the specifics about the status of their disease and they certainly do not want the statistics to be read to them. There is no question why patients like me always focus on the facts and make it so simple for the person in my position. I love my job as a hospice nurse and the simple fact is that most patients understand the news far better than we do.
When you’re looking for good news, you want to be able to answer these questions: what can I do to make this better? What can I eat to help myself? What are the vitamins I should take?
There are no answers to the eternal question of, “what can I do to make my terminal illness go away”, yet there are many things that you can do to help yourself through your disease. I am not telling you that I know how to do this; rather I am letting you know that many people have accomplished this by using what works for them and what does not work for them.
For example, if you are a smoker, you may be thinking that you should stop smoking. The problem is, if you do quit, the cancer cells in your body will most likely be released to move onto someone else. However, the issue here is that you must get up every day and do something. I know, it is easy to sit around watching TV all day; however, many people choose to spend time doing things like exercising or getting involved in their community.
So, if you are a smoker and you think you need to stop smoking to cure cancer, you must realize that you can forget about cigarettes because they are the source of the cancer cells. I am not telling you that you should not smoke, but you must realize that what you put into your body affects others. So, how do you do this?
First, start by going cold turkey and removing all of the cigarettes you currently smoke from your body. Also, if you are a smoker, get rid of all of the packs of cigarettes you currently have in your home. While this sounds like a Herculean task, if you just take one step in that direction, you are starting to move in the right direction.
Now, it is not an easy step, but it is the first step towards self-care. With one step towards self-care, you can move forward. Self-care is a major part of living life; without it, you do not move ahead.
