Blog

September 1, 2020

By Anne Dabbs, 
NCAN TN Chapter Leader, NET Patient

“Peace is not something you wish for;
It is something you make,
Something you do,
Something you are,
And, something you give away.”

— John Lennon

As you grow along your journey and meet other Neuroendocrine patients, you begin to see certain patterns of behavior emerge. On any given day, we might be a survivor, a warrior, or even a victim. Some days, we will evoke all 3 personalities!

The days when I feel most like a victim of this disease are the hardest. These are the days I do not recognize my old self. These are likely the days when my fits of uncharacteristically Carcinoid Rage appear. These days make me feel sad, frustrated, remorseful and so very out of control.

On my warrior days, I feel accomplished! I complete the house hold chores; I successfully make wise food choices, and I allow time to rest when needed. My volunteer work is now, happily, my office work. My agenda of medical appointments sometimes doubles as my social calendar. I feel like a conquerer when I can boldly cross items off my to-do list. I complete phone calls and correspondence in a timely manner, and I feel like my old professional self!

It is the survivor personality, however, that I strive for each and every day. It allows me to crawl through the victim days and rejoice during the warrior days. It seems to me that the survivor mentality is the hardest for many patients to achieve and maintain. To be sure, I do not consider myself a survivor of Neuroendocrine Cancer since my particular prognosis will never be NED. But my goal instead is to be a Survivor of Living Well with Neuroendocrine Cancer. The majority of my days, I am successful thanks in part to the quote above and to the support of the NET Community.

Coming to terms with a NETs diagnosis is a process of growth. Accepting it and modifying your life to accommodate it are important for a survivor mentality. To live well with our disease we must find a way to do more than wish this life away. Embracing this identify in some fashion, acting upon the necessary changes, and realizing your potential to grow with it will almost certainly lead you to an inner state of acceptance. And with that survivor’s mentality, you can share that peace with others and that’s when self-healing begins.

Find out more about how YOU can help the NET Community.

Disclaimer: NCAN blog posts are the opinions of its writers and are not intended as a replacement for medical advice. Please consult your Health Care Providers for individual concerns.