From Survivor to Survivors: Best Wishes for Recovering From a Storm

The last time my house lost electricity for multiple days, I was in treatment for invasive breast cancer. The power went off as I was resting from the administration of two chemo drugs, a biological drug and adjunct medicine.

It was December. Cold, I zipped into a long down coat and nestled under heavy covers, hibernating when I did not need to venture outside the house. Then, for a few days, I escaped with a friend who whisked me to a cozy bed and breakfast in nearby Asheville, North Carolina. What a luxury that was, even if I could not enjoy the tasty meals the town offered.

Now, with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene affecting so many communities, including Asheville, I cannot help but worry about everybody going through treatment alongside dealing with the loss of not only electricity but also, for some, homes, loved ones, medical facilities and more.

This hurricane as it wound down rushed through my own neighborhood, more benign than in nearby communities. Still, I woke early to branches and tree debris hitting my roof. Disconcerted, I watched the rain fall hard, but flash floods are common here. At one point, the sound of falling trees added to an eerie ambiance. Electricity went off and would stay off for about six days.

Since it was not cold outside and the house was safe, you might think I would have spent my time hunkered down knitting holiday gifts or catching up on reading. That is not what happened. Like so many of us with roofs over our heads, I first began checking on loved ones and then scrolled through news stories about ravaged communities. Sitting in my house without electricity, phone powered by backup battery blocks, I felt both connected and disconnected.

And, of course, I began to add “cancer” to search queries. How, I wondered, were people with cancer dealing with this catastrophe? Given social media, I found out. In public posts available for all to see, I saw cancer survivors resilient in the midst of devastation. I saw posts asking for prayers for people in treatment. In one of those haunting posts in which people were seeking to see if loved ones were safe, I read this: “Nana has stage 4 cancer and we are trying anything in our power to find them” (update: Nana and spouse found safe). There were news clips with cancer stories too, including from a patient whose home was damaged.

Community volunteers began helping. The American Red Cross was helping. FEMA came in. But blood and platelet drives had to be postponed, and we all know that transfusions can be a part of the cancer journey. What else? Some cancer medications need to be refrigerated. Food helps when you are weak from treatment. There was so much else, too much else, and I had to draw back after a few days, checking intermittently but not obsessively.

There is something called catastrophe fatigue. I experienced it when I had cancer for simple reasons. And if we experience catastrophe fatigue for things we can move past, with support, just imagine what is going on now for people with cancer also dealing with the issues going on in many parts of the southeast, including my Appalachian community of northeast Tennessee (where, among other significant losses, a hospital had to be evacuated by the National Guard), southwest Virginia (where homes and also roads people need to take to get to medical care were washed away), to western North Carolina (so much in the national news about this town that you can already visualize the ripple effect on patients with cancer).

While being in my home without electricity was really a piece of cake, it also made me relive a harder week and then, by association, worry about survivors actively dealing with cancer amidst the devastation. The process of recovering from a storm, and cancer, can last so long. I wish everybody better days.

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