Today for the cancer patient there are many options including: prosthetics, reconstruction, implants and many variations. What we once took for granted in our daily lives has changed after having gone through cancer. Our inherent wisdom and acceptance is in evolution and it vaccilates on any given day but for myself I seek out to accept and love what I am and have. Each day, and every wrinkle are mine. I might want to tweak things here and there and that is ok too and for those that go through reconstruction or choose other options, it is what works for you. What is the challenge you face and what interventions do you need to make you whole? I say CELEBRATE you! Honest and open conversation about your body images to a trusted friend, spouse, etc. can help you put it on the table and get it out there and find your true self. Support and encouragement and acceptance will improve self -esteem but you also have a role in making your self better and healing with in. Being active, involved and surrounding yourself in positivity be it groups or with individuals, helps to shore up the holes that can be the remnants of the war you just fought . For you that are out there and have not had to deal with these things, you are precious and important and need to find your balance as well. If you find that this is all more than you can comprehend, get help. There is no shame in needing to create your life or better yet recreate it. There are answers and you need to find what answers are best for you. RE-CREATING a GREAT DAY! S
I have been asked to return to Pitt-Titusville today and I look forward to the opportunity. Today is about body image and of course that is a relevant subject for cancer patients but also for young men and women everywhere. While gathering info for today, I came accross some numbers I would like to reference to: "About 44 percent of black young women have a high body image, compared with just 32 per cent of white women and 33 per cent of Native American women."- It did not go on to explain those numbers but I find that intriguing. Body image is about how you feel about your own body and that is not only physical appearance, but also pshychological feelings about your own body. We start at a very early age and it keeps getting younger with issues related to body image. I have known mothers that manipulate their baby's food needs for fear of them becomimg fat and young women that will spend money on cosmetics and procedures that will make them better. Being beautiful equates to happiness, wealth and attention and unfortunately in many circumstances it does relate to those things in our society. I wonder in the airport what the ratio of young attractive, skinny females are compared to middle aged and older heavier set women and who gets randomly picked to be scanned. It does make you wonder especially with some of the stories out there. The challenge for all is what can make your self-esteem or positive self image? I had cancer, I had a lumpectomy and my clothes fit different, felt different and I was always adjusting and I knew that a prosthetic would not make me anymore comfortable. I look in the mirror and see the ravages of cancer but I also have to look beyond and see the person who is really standing in the mirror. I am comfortable in my own skin, do I require changes to find that level of comfort?
Today for the cancer patient there are many options including: prosthetics, reconstruction, implants and many variations. What we once took for granted in our daily lives has changed after having gone through cancer. Our inherent wisdom and acceptance is in evolution and it vaccilates on any given day but for myself I seek out to accept and love what I am and have. Each day, and every wrinkle are mine. I might want to tweak things here and there and that is ok too and for those that go through reconstruction or choose other options, it is what works for you. What is the challenge you face and what interventions do you need to make you whole? I say CELEBRATE you! Honest and open conversation about your body images to a trusted friend, spouse, etc. can help you put it on the table and get it out there and find your true self. Support and encouragement and acceptance will improve self -esteem but you also have a role in making your self better and healing with in. Being active, involved and surrounding yourself in positivity be it groups or with individuals, helps to shore up the holes that can be the remnants of the war you just fought . For you that are out there and have not had to deal with these things, you are precious and important and need to find your balance as well. If you find that this is all more than you can comprehend, get help. There is no shame in needing to create your life or better yet recreate it. There are answers and you need to find what answers are best for you. RE-CREATING a GREAT DAY! S
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AuthorMy name is Sue Kilburn and I am a clinical nurse breast cancer educator at the Yolanda G. Barco Oncology Institute in Meadville, Pennsylvania. Archives
March 2015
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