The ebbs and flows of cancer treatment - Snapshot 3

A both/and approach

A practical approach . . . Ha!

I decided to take a practical approach to surgery and chemotherapy. I had cancer, and a treatment plan had been worked out. That was that. But my nervous system had other ideas, and it reacted in a variety of anxious ways over the course of the treatment. My mind and nervous system were certainly not in sync.

Then I remembered an anxious nervous system doesn’t need calm, it needs to feel safe. So, I began to explore what safety could look like for me.

As well as trust in the medical team and the love of family and friends, I discovered that leaning into my anxious symptoms, rather than tensing up and pushing against them, fostered a sense of safety. Although this approach may seem counterintuitive, it ultimately helped me feel more secure.

A both/and approach-- valuing both practicality and the needs of my nervous system.