WHAT IS SHARING YOUR WISDOM?

http://shareyourwisdom.cancer.im

 Most everyone’s heard of the expression, “everything I needed to know I learned in kindergarten.”  Of all the things you learned, one that was probably drilled into your head was the importance of sharing.  In Canada the youngest branch of the Boy Scouts, designed for those of kindergarten age, is called “Beavers.”  The motto of the beaver is very simple, “Beavers, beavers, beavers; sharing, sharing, sharing.”  The natural human tendency is to want to hoard, to keep for ourselves as much as possible.  Sharing is a virtue that needs to be taught.  It’s taught because even though we don’t share by nature, the world works so much better and we, personally, feel so much better when we do.

So what does it mean to share your wisdom?  In many ways your experience of cancer will be unique in the world.  No one’s cancer will be quite like yours, and so no one’s treatment will be exactly like yours either.  But there’s a world of difference between “nothing like yours” and “not quite like yours.”  Out there in the world, somewhere, someone is about to go through experiences very similar to the one you are going through, or have gone through.  They are beginning a process that brings with it fear of the unknown, mounting stress, and anxiety; in short, all the things that can hurt their chances of fighting off the disease in their bodies. 

But you hold the key to helping them accept their disease, build up a support network, and prepare to give themselves the best possible chance of beating their illness.  What is that key?  The wisdom you have gathered, perhaps unconsciously, through your own experience.  By sharing what you have learned with someone else, you can help reduce their stress, fear and anxiety and give them a better chance at defeating their cancer.  Who wouldn’t want to use that key? 

Here are just some of the experiences you can share with someone going through an experience similar to your own:

·         Your feelings on first being diagnosed

·         Your physical condition when you finally decided to visit a doctor

·         How you shared your diagnosis with family, friends, and colleagues

·         Whether you were misdiagnosed, or sought out a second opinion

·         Medical professionals who were helpful, and those who were not

·         What treatment options you explored, and why

·         How you own beliefs effected your approach to dealing with your cancer

·         Your personal system for organizing your medical records

·         How you managed the financial aspects of your treatments

·         Preparation you found helpful before any treatments

·         What side effects you suffered, and how you handled them

·         What the worst thing was about having cancer

·         Things you learned about yourself that you didn’t know before

·         What lifestyle changes you made, or were recommended to you

·         How your cancer effects your spiritual health, and how you dealt with it

·         What support group you joined, and how it was helpful

·         Exercise regimens you found helpful

·         Foods you gravitated toward, foods you avoided, and why

·         How your support network was able to help you

The list is hardly exhaustive: but it should paint a picture of the wisdom you have accumulated over your experience with cancer that could make the difference between defeat and victory for some other cancer patient.  All it takes to make a difference is to share.