Cancer and Certainty
Certainty is one of the human needs. Most of us are comfortable in our lives when certainty prevails. Food is available, the car works and allows us to get to work or perform the errands on time. They paycheck arrives on time. Holiday’s come, family gathers and there is happiness. When there is variability in our life, it can be exciting if we specifically plan or welcome it into our certain lives, but when it unexpectedly arrives we become anxious, stressed, irritated and unsettled.
Health is a gift. Most of us are born with health and it is up to us to nurture our bodies and minds to sustain a healthy state. There are many forces that can challenge our state of health. Some we can control and others are uncontrollable.
Cancer is one such entity. Sure, some of us might have taunted cancer by participating in lifestyle choices like smoking cigarettes that we know or have been told could have a high chance of negatively impacting health. But for most of us, cancer is a random event. One day we are in a peak state of health, and the next we have a devastating health issue to confront.
Battling cancer is different than battling many other medical issues. A broken leg will heal, diet, exercise and medication can make high blood pressure get better, ulcers heal with medication, and infections will go away with the miracle of antibiotics. But most of us think cancer is different and I would suggest that this perception is due to its ability to shatter, at least for a while, human certainty.
There is so much information immediately available to a person diagnosed with cancer. The multiple information sources can for some promote more uncertainty about prognosis, recommended treatments, outcomes, treatment experiences, and where the best treatments can be accessed. There are testimonials, alternative treatments and friends and family experiences with cancer that influence an individual’s certainty about their battle and their journey with cancer.
And the certainty that all people with cancer want the most, is know without a doubt, that they will be cured. This is a certainty that frequently is not fully realized with confidence until years after cancer treatment is completed.
At New England Cancer Specialists, we are your trusted resource and will serve you through this journey. Our goal is to empower you to be as certain as possible about outcomes. In our medical home environment, we strive to provide the resources that over time will help you re-establish confidence and certainty and a pathway to restore health whenever possible. Our health care providers will help make this uncertain diagnosis have as much meaning and certainty as possible. We will arm you with information and resources that you need. If you need more, we will find them and direct you other trusted sources. We are here for you to address needs around the clock from a team of providers that will know you and your battle. When an outcome is expected not to be favorable, we will be truthful and help to empower you and your family to face the next phases of life with dignity.
Our goal is to take some of the uncertainty out of this journey and let you heal. This is what we do.
This is our certainty.
