Just Know…
Ever feel like you are just having the worst day ever and no matter whom you talk to, they just don’t understand you? It’s like, going through your first break up while the rest of your friends have no idea what it’s like to go through one. You know, the feelings of why me…why now? Well, imagine being a senior in high school with nothing but the senior prom on your mind when all of a sudden you are diagnosed with cancer. Well, not only will you now be spending most of your time at the hospital and with your parents, but you will probably feel too sick to make it to prom, hang out with friends, etc. When all of your friends are leading “normal” lives, getting ready for prom, playing sports, and just doing normal teenager things, you are in a hospital bed after rounds of radiation or chemotherapy. Your friends are sitting around each other at lunch and you are sitting around doctors and nurses.
Who do you talk to? How are you friends supposed to really understand how you are feeling if they aren’t going through what you are going through? Many young cancer patients wish to lead normal lives but find it difficult to do so. Throughout adolescence, we are always consumed with what our peers think of us and our friends are probably the first ones we turn to when something goes wrong. For cancer patients, it seems as though the stresses of adolescence are exacerbated. They go through many physical and emotional changes—most of which they cannot control—and there is no doubt that they need a steady source of support from their peers.
Although few studies have focused on the effects of peer support groups on young cancer patients, I think it is important to shed light on the matter. With the few studies that have been conducted, it has been concluded, and it seems like an obvious truth, that peer groups provide a major source of support for adolescent cancer patients. It provides them with normal interactions that adolescents experience in their daily lives and gives them a chance to experience life as a teenager and not a cancer patient. Moreover, these support groups provide them with the opportunity to interact with people that have been on the same cancer journey. Bringing the social realm to them—providing them with opportunities to have someone to talk to that can understand what they are feeling or giving them a chance to share their thoughts and communicate with other people in general (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter)—these are all very simple yet HUGE ideas that can really do some good. Adolescence is probably when we feel the MOST uncomfortable, confused, and the list goes on. And I think that doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers really have the ability make a difference and provide the kind of care that makes these young patients feel comfortable and cared for. I think it’s really important that others take into consideration that because adolescence is a battle on its own, we SHOULD and NEED TO provide the kinds of support they need when they need it most—not just as a cancer patient but also as a normal teenager.
Written by Tanvi Bhakta, a seventyk advocate
Opinion-Editorial | sarah | August 13, 2009
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Thanks! Please continue helping us to spread the word!