Climbing the Mountain

“You have cancer.” Three words that will change your life forever. The diagnosis is often followed by surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and many other stress-inducing treatments. Your future will seem like an insurmountable mountain. John, a 50-year-old corporate lawyer, found himself facing this exact situation when he was diagnosed with a low grade follicular lymphoma. But John was determined to win his fight. Doing research on how to cope with cancer, he found a way to cope with it and is now in long-term remission. Using his story, the authors provide a guide to climbing that mountain. They show how using preparation (research), practice (exercise and activity), and a variety of social supports to live well within the parameters that cancer imposes can help you deal with the disease. They consider how to cope with the stresses and strains of diagnosis, first treatment, short-term remission, second treatment, long-term remission and palliative care. In particular, the authors stress the important relationship between exercise, activity, and well-being.