Accepting the cancer diagnosis and undertaking cancer treatment is a gigantic task in itself, but the good news is you need not feel lonely in this, you can have a community of like-minded people to reach out to.
The diagnosis and treatment of cancer are often overwhelming and devastating. Patients and their caregivers generally tend to isolate themselves from rest of the society and sometimes the opposite is also true.
Table of Contents
- Isolation and Cancer
- Social Relationship and recovery
- 5 reasons to Join a community
- Onco Conquerors – Your Support group
- Benefits of Joining Onco Conquerors
Post-diagnosis there are many changes and challenges a patient and his caregiver undergo. There are a lot of physical changes that a patient undergoes internally and externally. At the same time, the patient and his caregiver also experience a tremendous amount of emotional trauma. And in addition to all this, there is a financial crunch that comes along with this terminal disease.
It indeed is a big battle for life and happiness, every aspiration that one has had shatters with each passing day with difficulties just increasing every moment.
In such traumatic times, one feels lost and there’s still so much to be resolved like what food to have post-therapy? How can I feel better? How can I increase my energy? Is my treatment going on the right track? Do I need physiotherapy post-operation? I need a second opinion but from where? Can I work out? What kind of workout will be helpful?
Can all this be resolved in isolation? The answer is No!
Multiple studies across the years have established a reliable link between social relationships and health. Social relationships can provide emotional connections, security, reassurance, and guidance. Communicating with others provides companionship, help, love, and care.
Several online communities help cancer patients, cancer survivors, and caregivers. Such communities are increasingly gaining recognition as important support systems for cancer patients and caregivers. These communities are managed by cancer survivors who have gone through a lot of emotional and physical turmoil.
One should therefore consider joining such communities, as they can help a cancer patient and caregiver, see a better and brighter tomorrow thereby motivating them positively.
Let’s look at 5 reasons “Why joining a community is important for a cancer patient/ caregiver”
- Boosts your Spirits: When you join a community, you get an opportunity to interact with others, be a spectator to someone’s journey, and witness a couple of success stories. In this entire exercise, you tend to forget and overcome your pain, because you are now hoping that others recover and you are seeing them recover. It can be so magical to imagine a brighter tomorrow because many around you have made it and survived it. Joining a community of people who are or who have fought the same battle as you, can be very good for your spirits.
- Reduces Stress: The process of undertaking cancer treatment is very stressful. But when you are part of a community you have a bunch of people by your side who have been through the same situation as you are, you can talk your heart out to the community members which helps in reducing stress, anxiety, depression, or fatigue.
- Aids faster recovery: Being in a community, makes you feel better than being alone. You should see a remarkable difference in the vibes around you when you participate in the activities of such groups. Following a cancer care community will motivate you positively and this will speed up your recovery like never before.
- Access to free Expert Advice: One of the greatest advantages of being a part of a cancer community is that you have free access to expert advice. During your treatment, in case you need any advice, you can utilize the platform these communities provide to seek advice. These communities often arrange knowledgeable talks conducted by leading experts in oncology.
- Survivor’s Connect: Cancer support groups focus on success stories of survivors, with each story being highly inspirational. Like the one of a young boy Jayant Kandoi, who fought with cancer not once or twice but 6 times. Such stories, inspire us and forces us to think that if he can make it, I will make it too.
The advantages of being associated with a Cancer care group for a cancer patient or caregiver are many, but one should be cautious while joining such communities. The prime objective of these groups should be to help cancer patients and provide emotional support and expertise.
To begin with, you may consider joining a friendly community that is created by cancer survivors and that aims at well being of cancer patients and caregivers – Onco Conqueror.
Onco Conqueror aims in creating a safe and go to place for all cancer patients, caregivers, and survivors. It provides a platform to connect, share and reach out to people. It invites experts from various specializations in the field of Oncology so that its members can seek advice and suggestion about their treatment and know what should be the right path for recovery. It also helps its members to connect with panel of experts for treatment validation or seeking specific advice.
The pain that a cancer patient undergoes is tough however the rest of the journey can be made easy by getting associated with people who have been through the same road.
