Mending the Body and Mind of Cancer Survivors [SPONSORED]

I'm going to guess if I were to ask you to list the top five most mortifying things you could do while meeting with a client, crying would be high on the list. It's up there on my list, too and is exactly what when meeting with Alicia from the YMCA of Broome County.

Alicia and I were meeting to talk about all of the really amazing programs the Y offers when she mentioned one particular program and that's what caused my flood gates to open. My tears flowed so strong that Alicia had to grab tissues for me and I felt completely foolish. But, there are times in life when things take you so completely by surprise that your raw emotions spill out, and that's what happened to me.

In November of 2011, my dad was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of cancer called myelofibrosis. Most people diagnosed with myelofibrosis don’t survive for long.  In the early spring of 2013, I sat in front of dad's doctor at Dana Farber in Boston and asked her if looking back she thought that he would have survived and her answer was “no.”  What his doctors didn’t know is that my dad is a fighter. What they also didn’t know is that he comes from a family of fighters. There were times during his brutal treatments that my dad wanted to throw in the towel but when those moments arose, we stood strong for him and pushed him to fight. And it paid off.

My dad was declared cancer free in the spring of 2013, but the battle isn’t over. While dad’s body is cancer free, the effects of intense chemo and radiation have wreaked havoc on his body, leaving him with kidney problems, loss of vision, memory problems and more. Dad will be under the care of cancer doctors for the rest of his life, but that’s okay with me because it means he’s still here with us.

Recently, I was looking through my journal found some thoughts that I'd jotted down from that trip to Boston:

I’m filled with such sadness yet hope for all of the beautiful cancer fighters here at Dana Farber. There is so much sickness in this place yet everyone is filled with such joy. I can’t help but think that within their darkest of hours, they’ve grabbed a hold of the simplest of moments in life and their eyes are more open and their minds are more clear than most. And I envy these lovelies because they are so much braver than I.

And then there was this one,

Positively exhausted. Exuberantly happy. Emotionally drained. And I’d do it all over again tomorrow. I thought I had a handle on this thing called life. Wrong. I was schooled in life today and let me tell you, it was a smack in the face, but so desperately needed. From this point forward my mission is to let the insignificant crud roll off my shoulders and instead seek out the small yet majestic moments of life.

Talk about the full gamut of emotions- I absolutely experienced every one of them that day.  Whenever I hear about someone beating cancer, I get emotional because there is no guarantee for anyone diagnosed with this awful sickness that they'll survive and when they do, it's so much more bittersweet.

Back to my meeting with Alicia at the YMCA- the reason I lost it is because she'd just started to tell me about a program the YMCA offers called "Livestrong Partners In Healing."  I don't even have words for how amazing I think this program is.

Lifestrong Partners In Healing is a 12-week small group program and is designed especially for adult cancer survivors who've either become de-conditioned or are chronically fatigued because of their cancer treatment or the disease. This program not only focuses on the physical side of a survivor, but also on the emotional side. Livestrong at the YMCA dives into the emotional well-being of both survivors and their families by providing a support community.

The Livestrong Partners In Healing program has been so successful that the YMCA of Broome County just hosted their 35th class and because of this program, they've been able to help over 200 local cancer survivors.

Did you have any idea that there was something out there like this for survivors? I didn't, and that's what made me cry. I was so floored that an organization would care so much about the mental and physical well-being of survivors, just like my dad, that they would put together a program like this where other survivors can grow and regain their strength and gain support from others who understand exactly what they're going through.

If you're a cancer survivor and would like to learn more and be considered for this program, please reach out to Alicia Harper at 607-770-9622, extension 420.

Also, if you’d like to join the YMCA of Broome County, stop in to either branch before November 12, 2016 and drop my name. When you tell them I sent you, they’ll waive your $50 joiner fee!

[via YMCA of Broome County]