Thought I would post and mention that I have not heard anything about my PET scan results. With that said, I will probably find out today at my 11:00 doctor's appointment. Surprisingly, I was able to get some good sleep last night.
In another note, I read a book The Anatomy Of Hope by Jerome Groopman. The author is a hemotologist/oncologist and he writes about the idea of hope and partly about its biological foundations. I have spent many years facing hopelessness with others as a social worker. I have been mentored by researchers, whom a large portion of their academic work is devoted to the origins of hopelessness. I finally asked one day how someone could devote such a large cognitive portion of their time on earth to such a difficult area. The response was that understanding hopelessness gives us a corresponding understanding of its obverse, hope. Anyway, the book came recommended by a friend who is also a colon cancer survivor. The book was able to put some things in perspective for me. Mostly, however, it has provided me solace against the feelings by some people that I have been pessimistic, cynical, or negative about my cancer experience. In a few instances I have become angry, but I usually allude to the fact that most people, despite their good intentions, have an incomplete understanding of what it means to face a terminal illness head-on. Anyway, I wanted to share an excerpt from the book:
Many of us confuse hope with optimism, a prevailing attitude that "things turn out for the best." But hope differs from optimism. Hope does not arise from being told to "think positively," or from hearing an overly rosy forecast. Hope, unlike optimism, is rooted in unalloyed reality....Hope is the elevating feeling we experience when we see - in the mind's eye - a path to a better future. Hope acknowledges the significant obstacles and deep pitfalls along that path. True hope has no room for delusion.
If you have a chance, take time to get a copy of this book. It is a great journey into the biological realm of hope, rather than the psycho-social dimension.
Josh
1 comment:
What an awesome statement. I hate it when people tell me I am being pessimistic when I am just trying to be realistic. It's not that I don't have hope for the best outcome but I believe in being realistic about every possible outcome too. I will definitely pick up a copy of that book. Sounds very interesting.
~Aislinn
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