This will inevitably be one of the biggest crises in your life. You may feel your body has let you down. The thought of pain, physical and mental challenges and the possibility of dying will be uppermost in your mind at this stage. Your sense of potential loss will be magnified as you think of not being there for all the things you have envisaged . . . birthdays, graduations, weddings, and grandchildren . . . will be a recurrent theme. This is normal and inevitable. Talk with your loved ones about how scared you are. Do not store up all the anxiety because you want to ‘spare’ them. They will be just as scared and just as needful of discussion. Make a plan for yourselves on what you would like to achieve during the treatment and recovery phases.

Use this time to re-prioritize your life. Concentrate on what is really important in your life and what needs changing. Use the experience to ensure that you focus on what is best for you. Once you have beaten the cancer do not go back to your old ways…remember what have become the most important things in your life . . . good health and good relationships.

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