I haven’t been blogging for awhile, but I have a couple posts to put up to fill in the blanks - coming soon. I didn’t completely abandon my cancer world, I was just focused on other aspects of it for awhile.
Last year I joined the local LSGO (Lymphoma Support Group of Ottawa) and after attending a couple of their meetings I volunteered to do a couple of things for them to get ready for the following year of meetings; like putting together their monthly meeting flyers to post in the hospital. I have also been working on putting together a proposal to start a young adult chapter of the LSGO called Lymphomanics.
The group will meet quarterly for an informal social, or meet & greet if you will. The goal is to create a setting where young adults (a major demographic for Lymphoma patients, especially Hodgkins patients) can get together in a ‘no-pressure to share your feelings, be bombarded with medical information, try to identify with 60 year old patients or listen to stupid lectures environment’, and just get to know someone else who is going through (or gone through) the same things you are. All this in the hopes that people will exchange numbers or emails and keep in contact with each other for support.
I don’t know about the rest of the world but here in my neck of the woods it is very hard to find another young adult with Lymphoma to identify with, it’s all old patients, doctors, nurses and therapists! I need someone who understands about losing my hair, my identity, my social life, paying bills, not having insurance, gaining weight, feeling like no one will ever want to have sex with you again and watching all your friends lives progress around you. A ‘60 year old married man, with grown kids, grandkids, income, pension, savings, insurance, stopped having sex 10 years ago and didn’t have any hair to speak of anyways’ is just not going to get my cancer woes.
Young adults need to support other young adults the way we wish we could be supported. So that’s what I’ve been working on:)
2 comments:
i would love to have you link to my blog! it's great to connect with others with hodgkin's... i'm always looking for other resources & advice (especially since i've have some really weird side effects from some of the drugs!)
i hope you're doing well with everything, and i'm definitely going to take a look back on your blog!
Hello Tam,
What a wonderful idea! You really should start Lymphomanics. I've just read a blog by someone who is in her late 20's and going under chemotherapy for Lymphoma. Here is the URL for her blog: http://eyespeeledalways.blogspot.com/
Hope this makes you feel more motivated!
I just wanted to let you know that Wellsphere's HealthBlogger Network has many people who are in a similar situation as you are. If you would like to share your experience and help others cope, I would encourage you to take a look at http://www.wellsphere.com/health-blogger, and to consider applying to join the HealthBlogger Network.
If you need any assistance, please feel free to email me at hua [at] wellsphere [dot] com.
Best regards,
Hua
Director of Blogger Networks
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