5 Things I wished I knew when I was diagnosed with cancer part 1:

By Christina Ursin

1.      You will need to advocate for yourself– I didn’t understand this initially. I went to a support group at the beginning of my journey and several of the women mentioned wishing they had stuck up for themselves. So, I came in swinging…maybe a little harder than I should have. Cancer is not a “one size fits all” treatment. You must find what works for you and what you are comfortable with. Doctors are very quick to put you on the chemotherapy/radiation train, but does that work for you? ASK QUESTIONS!!! They signed me up for chemotherapy initially and I was not comfortable. I asked questions and they ran tests to see if chemotherapy was right for me, it wasn’t.

2.     It is okay to take your time– Unpopular opinion, I did not move forward with things until I felt comfortable with them. People normally don’t make good decisions when they are knee-jerk and made from fear. It is okay to take a few days or even a week to think through what your treatment options are as you may be living with the side effects for the rest of your life. Now be reasonable when we are saying to take your time.

3.      You cannot look at the big picture– It is too much. Taking this day by day is much more manageable and less likely to leave you extremely overwhelmed.

4.     Your body is going to change– This was a hard pill to swallow. You will have treatments and surgeries that change your body. Give yourself some time with it. Your scars tell a story. You may gain weight, lose weight, lose hair, or lose boobs. You are still beautiful. You are not broken. You are enough.

5.      Your life is going to look different. In cancer patient language they call it “your new normal.” I used to hate that saying, but it’s true. I spent so much time fighting what was happening to try to get things back to the way things used to be before cancer. I assure you it’s a losing battle to do that and you might as well save your energy.