The Cancer Whisperer

[minard]

Last week I was at a wonderfully moving talk at Maggie's Edinburgh by Sophie Sabbage. I had not heard of her, nor her book (The Cancer Whisperer). If you get a chance, read this one. She is a most inspiring, energising woman who has her own personal cancer journey to go through - but her approach has made me question many of the day-to-day acceptances I've made with my treatment to date. When I was first diagnosed, I started out questioning and researching everything. Recently I feel that I've started to slow my natural challenging approach, and that I've been "institutionalised" a little. And I don't like it.

I've now got so many ideas again, and am looking to set up appointments to discuss alternative complementary options. I feel that I'm taking charge again. It may not make a lot of difference in the long run (after all nobody has their own "control" version to compare with what would have happened if we didn't make that particular decision) but I feel alive again.

This is the link to Sophie's site sophiesabbage.com/ (for those of who haven't heard of her like me).

Caroline

[SusanAM]

Sophie also has a closed facebook group called Cancer Whisperer. I am in it and find it very helpful and challenging.

Susan

[TinaB1]

Hi Caroline ...

I wouldn't buy a book about cancer. I'm not really sure why but that's just me. Thanks for posting.

I did read some extracts though and I'm of the same opinion that epitaphs shouldn't be about winning or losing the battle. I've known a lot of women here who have passed away and they weren't engaged in a battle at all. What they were doing is trying to come to terms with this disease and trying to find a different and better way to live giving their new constraints. The Press's take on 'Win' or 'Lose' means that there are successful cancer patients and unsuccessful ones which I think is a simplistic and plain wrong way of looking at things. I do think the important dynamics are the emotional ones where we're trying to engage with our changing feelings for a better outcome in a spiritual way and then trying to deal with the emotions of other people, some of whom don't have the capacity or understanding to empathise. They can only bring their own belief systems to the arena and many of them don't make sense to a cancer patient at all even though they believed in them themselves before they were diagnosed.

So I do think too that the battle rhetoric should be ditched in favour of a celebratory one.

Take care xxx

[minard in reply to TinaB1]

Completely agree Tina. There were some interesting Q&As at the talk - and Sophie dealt with them well, probably because of her professional background. A lot of the questions were around topics which we deal with here on Ovacome, so it was good to be part of a group which seemed to understand the challenges we're all facing.