October 13, 2017
Four Tips for Staying Positive on the Path to Breast Cancer Survival
READ TIME: 3 MIN.
About one in eight U.S. women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime, according to Breastcancer.org, which notes that in 2017 an estimated 252,710 more American women will be diagnosed.
October's Breast Cancer Awareness Month magnifies those alarming statistics. The disease stays center-stage when a celebrity like actress Julia Louis-Dreyfuss announces she has breast cancer the night after winning an Emmy. As the battle begins for many, the next question before treatment becomes: how to deal with it?
"When something like this blindsides us, we may think we'll know how we'll respond, but we really don't know," said Melissa Mae Palmer, author of the book, "My Secrets of Survivorship, and an upcoming book, "Survivorship: Breast Cancer at 40." "You may find a hero's strength, and you may find yourself more frightened than you've ever been in your life. There is no right or wrong way to feel."
Palmer, who has been cancer-free for three years, emphasizes that while there are numerous factors cancer patients can't control, there are some they can. Thus, it is important soon after the diagnosis, she says, to come up with a plan that features positivity, consistency, and good support people.
Here are four tips Palmer suggests:
"Survivorship is a process we all endure," Palmer says. "We are all survivors of something. Remember to fight in life because it will be and can be positive when you are ill."
Melissa Palmer, author of "My Secrets of Survivorship" and the upcoming book, "Survivorship: Breast Cancer at 40," is battling a rare genetic disorder, Pompe disease. A mother of five, she has an M.A. in Professional Counseling, created The Survivorship Foundation, is active in the American Cancer Society charity "Relay for Life" and co-founded a support group, Cancer Soul Survivors.
For more information, visit www.mysecretsofsurvivorship.com