October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Actual Dance is, among many different things, about breast cancer. It is also about love. It is also about relationships. It is also about spirituality and what life really is. It is about a lot of things.
In October in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness I will post a daily blog with a reflection about breast cancer. The reflections will stem from something in the play. (All quoted lines are text from the play.)
Day 5: Getting bad news is never easy. And I suspect giving it is not easy either. It is really, really hard to be Aware at that specific moment in time. If you have ever been there you know. Everything stops. Time stops. Reality stops. Breathing stops. One of the standard bits of advice is that the patient should never be alone when they hear such news. It is hard to be Aware enough at those moments to always hear what is really said. As it turned out, while I was there to hear the news with Susan, it was me who struggled. Not Susan. “Susan never indicated she was worried, or if she was she didn’t tell me. She is always very matter of fact. …” is the first line in the show about those moments. The next – the moment when we get called into the doctors’ office to get the bad news -- it is me who leaves the room emotionally and metaphysically. Susan sits and listens. For me: “All of a sudden I am watching the scene from above.” I describe want was to be my second “out of body” experience.
Stat of the Day: The American Cancer Society projects that 2,360 men will be diagnosed in 2014 with breast cancer and 430 will die.
Task of the Day: Check on your Medical Directive and make sure it is up to date and current. While you are at it, perhaps make a note of who you want as your “partner” if you need to be Aware while getting bad news or medical information. Check specifically about the duration of your Medical Directive. Often the designation is only for a limited period of time (5 or 10 years). Keep it up to date!
Resource of the Day: When you are sick it is really important to take medicine as directed and for the time directed. It can be confusing too if you have a lot of meds and if you are in the midst of chemo. Here is a neat resource with tools on how to keep in on top of it all called Script Your Future.
In October in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness I will post a daily blog with a reflection about breast cancer. The reflections will stem from something in the play. (All quoted lines are text from the play.)
Day 5: Getting bad news is never easy. And I suspect giving it is not easy either. It is really, really hard to be Aware at that specific moment in time. If you have ever been there you know. Everything stops. Time stops. Reality stops. Breathing stops. One of the standard bits of advice is that the patient should never be alone when they hear such news. It is hard to be Aware enough at those moments to always hear what is really said. As it turned out, while I was there to hear the news with Susan, it was me who struggled. Not Susan. “Susan never indicated she was worried, or if she was she didn’t tell me. She is always very matter of fact. …” is the first line in the show about those moments. The next – the moment when we get called into the doctors’ office to get the bad news -- it is me who leaves the room emotionally and metaphysically. Susan sits and listens. For me: “All of a sudden I am watching the scene from above.” I describe want was to be my second “out of body” experience.
Stat of the Day: The American Cancer Society projects that 2,360 men will be diagnosed in 2014 with breast cancer and 430 will die.
Task of the Day: Check on your Medical Directive and make sure it is up to date and current. While you are at it, perhaps make a note of who you want as your “partner” if you need to be Aware while getting bad news or medical information. Check specifically about the duration of your Medical Directive. Often the designation is only for a limited period of time (5 or 10 years). Keep it up to date!
Resource of the Day: When you are sick it is really important to take medicine as directed and for the time directed. It can be confusing too if you have a lot of meds and if you are in the midst of chemo. Here is a neat resource with tools on how to keep in on top of it all called Script Your Future.
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