Torie,
I also have NSCLC, but inoperable, unradiable stage IV. I just had my 1 yr.
survivor anniversary last week. I'll try to answer Carla too when I get a
chance. You said you were going to look for books. I'd like to recommend the
very well-known Bernie Siegel's "Love, Medicine and Miracles", of course.
Also "50 Essential Things To Do When The Doctor Says It's Cancer" by Greg
Anderson, a long-term lung cancer survivor. Both books discuss the similar
personalities or principles that cancer survivors have in common.
One belief I found particularly true from "50 Essential Things" is:
"The most basic belief is that cancer does not equate with death. ...Yet the
majority of survivors are not "be positive-against-all evidence" sort of
people. ...That's denial.
Instead, survivors recognize the truth - that their cancer may or may not mean
death. ...Survivors believe, "Yes, I may die. But I also may live. And I am
going to invest my time, whatever its length, in living the best way I know
how." Even those with the worst prognosis choose this belief first. ... They
believe their personal involvement is absolutely essential to the recovery
process. Survivors believe wellness is not accident, that it takes work... For
the moment, getting well takes precedence over everything."
You sound like you're well on the way to the right attitude.
God bless,
Tricia
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