rehabilitation and convalescence
This is part of the In The Pink series P2
The next stage is convalescence. We don’t seem to like to use this term much as it conjures up images of old ladies sitting around in chairs, however if you look at the meaning then you will know that the Latin term means ‘to grow strong’ - rather apt under the circumstances.
Once you have recharged your batteries, then you can begin to build up your physical and emotional strength. Don’t push yourself as there are no rules on how long it takes and I believe that if you rush this process it will only cause other problems later down the line.
Once you have recuperated and convalesced, you will start to look at life differently and hopefully change the things you were not happy with. However never forget that life will never be the same again as whatever your prognosis, whatever your hopes, whatever your personality, the second that you know that you have cancer your life changes irrevocably.
For many women, their sense of security and safety is undermined, their hopes for the future compromised, their trust in their world denied. The whole process from diagnosis, through treatment to completion is entirely and utterly abnormal, for months your life is taken over by what must seem like an endless stream of clinic visits, of being prodded and poked, scanned and punctured, of waiting and watching, of hopes realised and hopes dashed.
Your life has been taken over by others, run to someone else’s timetable. There is every reason for wanting to get back to some thing that is yours to control, yours to manage, back to something familiar. However, to try to do that when so much has changed is a difficult, if not an impossible task.
The trick is how to regain control and stability in a changed world. Rehabilitation, therefore, is a process of regaining and refreshing old skills, learning and refining new ones to enable you to live the sort of life you want. So what are the tasks that have to be completed in order to get through the process that I have talked about.
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