Embrace It, Talk About It, And Focus on Getting Well

Hodgkin’s lymphoma survivor Karen Ballou certainly understands the urge a lot of people dealing with cancer have – to simply push their diagnosis out of their minds, and pretend that everything is normal. But she seriously cautions against that tactic. Talking about cancer can have a profound impact on how you handle your diagnosis.

“I think sometimes we don’t want to talk about cancer,” Karen says. “And we have to talk about it.” Karen was first diagnosed right after she got back from an international vacation. She saw a doctor because of a swollen foot that wouldn’t go down, and got the news that she actually had cancer. “Just the word cancer stopped me in my tracks because … how could I be that sick?”