Keeping a Healthy Perspective Toward Cancer

Back in the old days, we learned to draw interior illustrations by hand, at a drafting table, late at night with a pot of black coffee, and a stack of albums on the record player. These 2D illustrations showed the perspective of an interior space making it feel 3 dimensional.

I never imagined, as a college sophomore, that my drafting lessons would be inspiration for future coping skills to deal with my neuroendocrine cancer. Drawing and thinking in perspective allows you to focus on the issues closest to you and to recede the items placed in the background. That which needs the most attention is placed in the foreground and the supporting details in the background.

How do you put your neuroendocrine cancer into perspective?
What issues or concerns are in your foreground?

Is your zebra large and looming in your life, or tucked away in the background, coming into view only on occasion? Not every issue needs your full attention 100% of the time. It is ok to examine your health status and put some issues into the background from time to time. We can train ourselves to prioritize things which must be dealt with daily. They belong up front, and center. The little, annoying issues that collectively jumble up our thinking can be placed into the background. Not hidden or forgotten, just sent aside until the mental and/or physical energy exists to deal with them.

A perspective helps visualizes a space as fluid as well. Spaces evolve; health issues do too. Some weeks my zebra pulls up a chair and demands my attention. Other times, he sits on a shelf in the background, nearly forgotten.

As much as my training and professional life have contributed to my coping skills for living with this incurable disease, I am always looking for more helpful hints. What have your life experiences taught you about living in the world of Neuroendocrine cancer? What skills can you share here to help others? How do you keep your expectations in a healthy perspective?

If you need help keeping your NETs journey in perspective, give us a call, we are here for you.