Embarking on a cancer journey is unquestionably one of life’s most challenging passages. In essence, it’s a path lined with uncertainty, fear, and physical and emotional adversity. Yet, amid the shadows of hardship, there exists a powerful source of strength – the human spirit. This extraordinary strength can emerge when one chooses to be uplifting despite the circumstances. Additionally, the power of positivity can be transformative.
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Life often presents us with unexpected challenges and uncertainties. For families facing cancer, these challenges can feel especially daunting, particularly when it’s a child who has been diagnosed. Markedly, the journey that follows is filled with uncertainty, fear, and numerous medical appointments. And one of the most challenging parts of this journey for both patient and family, is living between cancer scans.
A cancer diagnosis can be difficult, even exhausting to process. The treatment regimen is often physically and emotionally grueling. And it can be scary and overwhelming especially for kids. But research has found that putting pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard can be a powerful therapeutic tool. Journaling through cancer provides a vehicle for reflection and for sorting out one’s inner most thoughts. It’s a constructive way for your child to get feelings and emotions off their mind and onto paper. In fact, it can be an important part of self-care. Particularly as your child weaves through the uncertainty and fear that cancer characteristically fosters.
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All kinds of people get cancer. Grandparents, uncles, neighbors, teachers and yes, even children. In fact, every year about 15,590 young people from birth to 19 years old will receive a cancer diagnosis in the United States. To put this in perspective, every day 47 families in the U.S. will learn that their child has cancer. And for those of us who receive this gut-wrenching news, life instantly changes as cancer catapults our child into their cancer journey.
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Children going through cancer treatment have a lot to cope with. And integrative medicine may offer some relief. This practice includes natural, mind-body approaches to care for patients and their families. And while integrative medicine won’t replace standard medical treatment like radiation or chemotherapy, it can be used alongside it to help improve patients’ quality of life.
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Mikey Friedman, founder of Mikey’s Way Foundation used humor to help cope with his cancer. Moreover, he felt that by being uplifting, high spirited and humorous he was able to live life without fear. In fact, he once wrote, “By not being afraid, I was able to live.” The power of laughter has been shown to have positive effects on our mental and physical health. And Mikey specifically proved repeatedly that a chuckle or two can provide an important relief valve. The power of laughter is no joking matter as Mikey illustrated not only for himself but for all those around him.
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Mikey Friedman, founder of Mikey’s Way Foundation, often used the written word to express his innermost thoughts and philosophical perspectives. Such as, in his essay, “The Touch of a Soul Mate, the Thrill of the Hunt” he speaks about probability and how we might choose to live in a random world. For example, here he draws from his experience with randomness, suggesting that “Thou shalt not live in fear.”
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Michael Friedman peppered his High School Commencement speech with golden nuggets of wisdom. He told his fellow graduates that it was their generation’s turn to make a difference in the world. He shared his perspective about choices, describing how experiences dictate decisions. And that an arsenal of experiences drives the choices we make.
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When a child receives a cancer diagnosis, pieces of their childhood slip away as treatment becomes the top priority. And while friends and classmates are busy with sleepovers, baseball games, and playing with neighborhood kids, the child with cancer is busy with doctor appointments, medical tests and scary procedures. But, kids with cancer need some normalcy in a new world that is anything but normal.
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Mikey lived his life savoring every moment. He knew the importance of each time interval. And as the clock ticked, he savored each moment. He appreciated his time on this earth; with relish, compassion and purpose. His work to create Mikey’s Way Foundation is a testament to who he was and how he chose to live his life and use his time.
In one of his many journal entries, “A Moment in a Two-Month”, Mikey expressed the importance of savoring every moment.
“Time is relative to the observer. Humans conspired together to invent the second as a means of measuring time intervals. Everyone lives by the second. It dictates the hour, days, weeks, months, and years. And the calendar keeps our engagements to the second in order. But time is relative to the observer. I am not bound to the second. Rather, I measure them in two-month intervals. When you think about it, both measurements are equally arbitrary; both are equally indifferent to the intrinsic behavior of existences. Only here’s the difference: my time interval is important; your second is meaningless.”
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