Tag: Barbara Ehrenreich

The havoc called breast cancer

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 15 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas     ♥    Heart Sisters (on Blue Sky)

“Havoc”  /hævək/  Oxford Dictionary definition: “a situation in which things are seriously damaged, destroyed or confused.” 

October is officially Breast Cancer Awareness Month – and this month, it’s also my first time as a person diagnosed with malignant breast cancer. So I’m feeling more aware of breast cancer than I’ve ever been. (Think: six rounds of chemotherapy, 11 more scheduled rounds of immunotherapy infusions, countless scans, blood tests, oncology consults, a port surgically implanted in my chest, plus the mastectomy booked for November 25th.  Oh, joy. . .)  And I’m telling you right now, enduring chemo side effects has been even more brutal and debilitating than I could have imagined, a genuine quality-of-life nightmare in action. The powerful chemo drugs that are pretty effective at killing off fast-growing cancer cells are the same drugs that are also killing off my healthy cells, wreaking havoc on my body now and perhaps for months or even years to come. Buckle up, buttercup. . .  

Continue reading “The havoc called breast cancer” →

Survivorship bias: when we focus only on success

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 17 Comments
by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

We were sitting around with friends and family recently over some very nice red wine when our friend Noel asked a question about my weekly Toastmasters meetings, and specifically about whether I thought there are some people who simply never learn to feel comfortable speaking in public, even after Toastmasters training. After a moment’s contemplation, I replied to Noel:

“I can’t really say – because those who actually feel too uncomfortable often just stop attending after a while. But the ones who stay seem pretty comfortable!”

It turns out that what I was describing is essentially what’s known as survivorship bias.*  

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Post-Traumatic Growth: how a crisis makes life better – or NOT

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 36 Comments
Full disclosure: I’ve always felt a bit squirmy when patients facing a life-altering medical crisis cheerfully declare that this diagnosis isn’t only NOT dreadful, but it’s actually quite fabulous! But before I dig into that theory, let’s look at this positivity phenomenon.
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Psychologists sometimes refer to it as “Post-Traumatic Growth”.
 Continue reading “Post-Traumatic Growth: how a crisis makes life better – or NOT” →

Looking for meaning in a meaningless diagnosis

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 26 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas   ♥  @HeartSisters

“That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.  If you tell yourself you feel fine, you will. Don’t cry over anything that can’t cry over you.  When life hands out lemons, squeeze out a smile.”

Translation:  Blah blah blah . . .

Here’s one I like better:  “Sometimes bad things happen to good people.” Period. End of story. As I’ve written here before, there is no Fair Fairy in life.

It is indeed tempting – and common – to spout trite platitudes designed to somehow make people feel better about those bad things with bumper sticker pop-psych. But can platitudes really lend meaning to a life-altering health crisis? Continue reading “Looking for meaning in a meaningless diagnosis” →