My Cancer ~ What Worked For Me ~ Balance Spirit & Self For Healing ~ Loss Of Work & Living With Disabilities ~ Managing Pain

Coping with Stage IV Lung & Bone Cancer

My third transformational life experience surfaced as Stage IV Lung Cancer that metastasized into my spine, eating away two and a half bones and causing it to collapse.

In my life review, I was shown parts of my future. Dealing with cancer was one of my future experiences. I was diagnosed with stage IV lung and bone cancer in November 2000 with a poor prognosis. This came at a time when I was dealing more with my human self than my spiritual self. 

Yet, because of my ministry, spiritual and life experiences, acceptance of the cancer was immediate. It brought me back to my center and the balance of my human side and Spirit. It gave me new insights into how to deal with all aspects of coping with a terminal illness. Even though I had worked for many years in healthcare. Cancer reminded me of how many lives we lovingly touch and work with, in our life. 

Gratefully, Spirit communicated many ways to deal with the physical pain, the drug-induced highs and lows, and the mental aspects of healing. I was shown practices of visualizations and mediations for relieving physical pain and to help in re-centering the emotional anxieties and mood swings. 

This third experience was not like the others where I was given specific gifts. Instead, it has brought the gifts together with even more clarity. It has also acted as a confirmation that I am again in that perfect place on my path. I now know that it is time to communicate what I have experienced and learned and how I am using it to cope with my terminal illness. 

Facing Death with Terminal Cancer

When told you have a terminal disease and facing death, there comes a better connection with God, Goddess, Creator, Buddha, Allah, or the Great Spirit, whatever you choose to call the Higher Self or Universal Mind. I chose to call it Spirit.

When you’re diagnosed with something terminal, and you are facing the possibility of an early passing, that connection with oneness is so much closer. You start to hear more through Spirit, and there is clarity in that communication. If you have worked with Spirit in the past or if you haven’t, you are going to understand more clearly what your “Truth” is. What is important to you! You begin to hear it through your heart and not through your mind. A mind is a wonderful thing, and it is wonderfully illuminated. But it holds onto and grasps many unnecessary parts of life. If we cultivate our mind so that it can process through our heart to the Universal Consciousness, then our hearts begin to open. 

At first, it is hard, at first your going to have a good cry over this. That’s necessary because you need to release. It’s one thing to have a good cry, but if you continue to grasp and hang onto the past, the misery, and the suffering, you are not going to evolve beyond and learn from this experience. You have a wonderful opportunity to grow at this stage and to be at peace.

With the truth, you can be content in knowing this is where you are “Now.” You’ve worked as hard as you can to be the best person you can be. Once you come to that realization, you can release and let go. A cry is a good way to do it. Stop grasping and stop holding onto what’s no longer necessary. When faced with death, you understand what is important ~ “Love.”

Putting Things In Order

You may also find that you need an uncluttered nature of being, and it may require cleaning house in some way. You need to put things in order. Talking to those you need to talk to can be very emotional because you’re so much closer to Spirit. You can feel their emotion, and that multiplies with your own emotions. You’ll get through it, and you’ll gain strength and a clearer and calmer connection once you’ve put things in order. I do not want to sugarcoat it, though – it will not be easy to accomplish.

Once it is accomplished, acceptance of where you are, in your path, in this life, and at this moment will be very satisfying. We always need to get some of the smaller obstacles off the path when starting. Talk to close family and friends and let them know where you are and let them know your connection with Spirit. Then you can talk openly and freely, and they will know they can speak freely with you. You don’t have to hold anything back; you can express who you really are.

YOU CAN BE WHO YOU ARE.

With a growing connection with Spirit, you don’t need that cloak of false persona anymore. You can cast it off and step up and continue moving forward. With our connection with Spirit and our hearts open, nothing can hurt us.

We are preparing ourselves to ascend and return where there will be no judgment, only acceptance. We are going to go through our life review without judgment. Instead, we will go through our life review with understanding. We will understand how we approached this life. With that, we are going to grow and evolve, and that’s the important thing to prepare for. Once we have an understanding of who we are and a renewed connection with Spirit, then we can face what is to come. 

Letting Go of Control & Understanding Cycles of Cancer

When cancer is initially diagnosed, the very first fear that most people have is, “Am I going to die?” This is the normal overwhelming first thought; most of the time, there is no room for any other thought or emotion.

 The initial diagnosis will usually shock a person into some sort of action. The first action may be positive or negative and can be the beginning of the future path that a person follows. The first few weeks the person will be in the fog, and they may not even know it. Their thinking will be cloudy, and concentration might become difficult. It may seem like they are zoning out. 

A new contact with medical persons, however unwelcome, can tie up much of the mental and emotional energy you have. I recommend making lists of questions for your meetings with medical personnel. Bring someone with you to those meetings because the fog will make it difficult for you to receive all the important information you are looking for. Remember, two heads are always better than one. Tell the other person what it is you’re looking for and what you want. With all this negative input and stimuli, many people still experience a very positive, clearer, heightened insight into what is most important in their lives.

The process of letting go can open new doors to self-understanding. When someone begins their fight against cancer, they will probably struggle to keep that sense of control they are used to having. Total control during cancer treatment is not possible. Once a person gives up trying to control everything, they may start seeing aspects of themselves in their body, mind and relationships in a new light. Their personal priorities may become clearer. Many cancer survivors consider this heightened insight a positive result of their cancer experience. The process of letting go can open new doors to self-understanding.

Letting go can also help when experiencing the frustration that results from the treatments. The longer a person is having treatment, the more opportunity there is for frustration to come into play. When there is a loss of control of the body and fatigue is keeping them from what they want or are able to physically accomplish, then they need to let go. I know that I speak about fighting fatigue, but we also need to know our limits. When you have to do something in that fatigued state, then do it in smaller steps as much as you can. Small accomplishments will help keep a good sense of your own self-worth.  

Treatment Cycles

The first treatment will probably change the cycle and rhythms that a person is accustomed to doing things. Watching your energy levels and learning the new rhythm will help to go with the flow of future treatments.

Remember the fog? It may take a couple of treatments to really understand these new cycles. It is important to note that, at this point in time, most cancer treatments have a cumulative effect. If the first treatment seemed like a cake walk just wait. After a few weeks, you may think differently.

When someone understands their cycles, then they can attend to the job at hand and do their part in healing. Recognize that they are going to have bad days and good days. On the bad days, they will not schedule anything and may not even want to communicate. But on the good days, they will be more apt to be more active and respond to suggestions. That is when fighting fatigue is possible. When the energy levels are known, then you can start to schedule life’s needs.

Cancer patients will be amazed at how resilient the human body can be. They just need to understand that the more a person allows the strength of their body to work with the treatment, the more successful the treatment will be. If you don’t waste your energy fighting the treatment, then you will have more energy to listen and work with the new clearer insights you have.

My Cancer ~ What Worked For Me ~ Balance Spirit & Self For Healing ~ Loss Of Work & Living With Disabilities ~ Managing Pain