The Importance of Shared Survivorship

According to the National Cancer Institute, cancer affects roughly 2 million people and around 610,000 people die yearly. There are many resources for people during cancer treatments within hospitals, like the local PLUTA Cancer Center. But with so much emphasis on the experience during treatment, people can seem to forget about what happens after to the survivors. Questions like who are cancer survivors after they are in “remission”, what has happened to their life since diagnosis, and how are they going through life now, are rarely addressed and can lead to isolation.

Groups like the Breast Cancer Coalition and the YMCA Livestrong Program in the Rochester area strive to help cancer survivors become reaccustomed to the life that is now created by having the title of survival or being in remission. Both programs seek to connect survivors with people in active treatment for cancer and form a web of connection for survivorship. They create spaces where people can share their experiences, struggles, and life stories after their diagnosis.

“The assumption among people, friends, family, the public, whatever it is; when you're “done”, quote-unquote, people think everything just goes back to normal,” said Megan Mack, a 37-year-old breast cancer survivor. “And there is no going back to normal. It's a new normal, it's a shift, whatever       Megan Mack at the WXXI Broadcasting Station          you want to call it. But the life that I had before cancer is over and that's okay. Now I'm adjusting to this new set of circumstances and an outlook that's evolving.”

Megan became a member of the Breast Cancer Coalition after being diagnosed with stage two invasive ductal carcinoma in February 2021. She shared a sentiment that many survivors seem to take; cancer is an inconvenience but the patient is still in charge of their own life.

“I treated the whole process like a job because for me I needed to disconnect from it in certain ways… And that's not to say like I'm some sort of powerhouse. It was because I needed the mental focus of I don't want my life to change. I hated the feeling of being out of control. So by doing everything as best I could to my quote-unquote “normal life”, I thought this is me regaining part of that control” said Mack.

Her coworkers became a sense of community for her during this time and helped her to get through the unthinkable days. To have her work life there was a space away from her diagnosis and a time to focus on what was still normal. Community spaces are impactful for patients in treatment and survivors because they can have a place to be around those with the same struggles outside of the ward of a hospital.

Community is a vital piece of not only making it through a cancer diagnosis but also remission. Marion Andrews, a 75-year-old colon cancer survivor, said that community within the Livestrong Program is what brought her further into her spiritual life, and the positive mental attitude that she had throughout her diagnosis and treatment.

“Basically, once you're done with your treatment, it's so long,” Andrews said when talking about her treatment. She had colon cancer a total of 3 times, with the first being in 2014, the second in 2017, where she had to undergo radiation treatment rather than the typical chemotherapy, and the latest being in      Marion Andrews at Union Street Coffee House 2021. After her first diagnosis and survival in 2013, she began to look for other outlets and communities to help rationalize her new circumstances.

“[Cancer] was a huge awake thing when I heard what I had, it was like, OK, you got to do something. And  I believe very much that we're spirit encased in the body. So from that point of view, it means you heal your spirit first and then your body. So that's what I got busy doing.” Marion began participating in Reiki healings and formed another community of people whom she knew she could count on and develop this new positive attitude. Reiki is a technique that utilizes energy to promote destressing and relaxation. It is a spiritual concept that is meant to bring peace to people who have lower energy levels because of stress or illness.

At 75 years old, being able to have a community you can count on when you’ve been an independent person for most of your adult life is an experience that Marion says she could not have made it through without.

“I have a wonderful Reiki community that all I have to do is text ‘I need some help today’ and boom. [...]Honestly, I would not have been able to get through it,” said Marion. This communication proves how important it is to have a community and support group during this challenging time.

The ability to find solidarity and have not only someone to reach out to but also someone they can rely on makes a dramatic difference in this process of pain and healing. It may make it easier, but even if it does not make it physically easier it makes the mental load less to bear. Speaking with survivors and learning who they are and what is important to them may change your own perspective on life. Many survivors become more open to opportunity, which leads to building communities that will span far past just their time as cancer patients.