self-care

Mind, Body, & Spirit: The Importance of Self-Care

As a cervical cancer patient and survivor, you’ve shown immense strength, resilience, and courage, but your self-care journey doesn’t end with a cancer diagnosis or even at the end of treatment; it’s a continuous life path toward self-discovery and healing.

Self-care is essential to help you heal physically and nurture your mental and emotional well-being. Check out these five practices for cervical cancer patients and survivors that promote self-care.

Prioritize Mental Health and Wellness

Your mental health is just as important as your physical well-being. After enduring something like cervical cancer, you may experience a wide range of emotions, including anxiety, fear of the unknown or the “new normal,”, and even survivor’s guilt. Prioritizing your mental health is crucial to help you navigate these complex feelings. 

You can accomplish these things by: 

  • Seeking Professional Help: Reach out to a therapist or counselor who specializes in cancer survivorship. They can provide valuable guidance and support as you process your emotions and concerns.
  • Joining a Support Group: Connecting with other cervical cancer patients and survivors can be incredibly healing. Sharing your experiences and hearing others’ stories can reduce feelings of isolation and provide a sense of community. Cervivor offers a virtual online support group on the second Tuesday of each month. Sign up on our events page here.
  • Practicing Mindfulness: Mindfulness meditation and deep breathing exercises can help you stay present and reduce anxiety. Apps and online resources make it easy to get started.

Read for Healing

Reading can be a powerful form of self-care for cervical cancer survivors. It allows you to escape into different worlds, gain knowledge, and find solace in the written word. Start by: Choosing some inspirational memoirs. Many cancer survivors have shared their experiences in memoirs or self-help books. Reading these can provide you with insight, inspiration, and a sense of connection. Or explore fiction and fantasy. Sometimes, losing yourself in a good novel or immersing yourself in a fantasy world can provide a much-needed break from reality. Reading fiction can be a great way to relax and recharge. We strongly believe knowledge is power. Take some control back by learning about nutrition after cancer. Reading about nutrition can help you make informed choices about your diet and overall health. Jump in and join the Cervivor Book Club!

Get Creative

Engaging in creative activities can be therapeutic and fulfilling. It allows you to express your emotions and discover new passions. Start a journal to help you process your feelings and reflect on your journey as a cervical cancer survivor. It’s a safe space to express yourself freely. Exploring art therapy with drawing, painting, or crafting as it can be immensely cathartic. You don’t need to be a professional artist; the act of creating can be a soothing and expressive outlet. Or considering learning a new skill or hobby. Whether it’s playing a musical instrument, cooking, or dancing, mastering something new can boost your self-esteem and provide a sense of accomplishment.

Get Physically Active

Maintaining a regular exercise routine is essential for physical and emotional well-being. It helps with managing stress, improving mood, and maintaining a healthy weight. Depending on your physical condition, start with gentle exercises like yoga or walking. These activities can improve flexibility and strength without putting too much strain on your body. To ensure your safety and well-being during and post cancer treatment, look for cancer-specific exercise programs and classes designed to address the unique needs and concerns of cancer patients and survivors. These classes often provide a supportive and understanding environment along with modifications to fit your physical limitations. Survivor Slimdown is powered by Cervivor, Inc. and lead by Cancer Exercise Specialist and cervical cancer survivor, Patti Murillo-Casa.

Cultivate a Supportive Environment

Surrounding yourself with a supportive and caring community is vital for your healing journey. Connect with friends and family who offer encouragement and empathy. Start by communicating your needs. A lot of us fear being seen as weak or a burden when we ask for help. We’re here to say don’t. Don’t be afraid to communicate your needs with your loved ones. Let them know how they can support you on your path to recovery.

Another way to cultivate a supportive environment is to get involved with your local community and beyond. Many organizations and hospitals host events specifically for cancer patients and survivors. Attending these gatherings can provide you with opportunities to connect, share, and celebrate your journey as well as discuss the hard things you face on a daily basis. Connect with Cervivor at upcoming events or consider hosting your own MeetUp on behalf of Cervivor! (Email us for more information).

Remember, self-care is a lifelong commitment to nurturing your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Prioritizing your mental health, finding peace in reading, and expressing yourself through creativity can all be powerful tools in your healing journey. Additionally, staying physically active and cultivating a supportive environment can further contribute to your overall well-being. And as another reminder, you are never alone. There are many resources and communities ready to offer support and encouragement. Embrace these self-care practices and various programming put on by Cervivor. Together they will help you thrive as a cervical cancer patient and survivor and continue your journey towards a healthier and fulfilled life.

Blank Verses, Short Stories, and Other Musings

Each night, I climb into bed, prop up on my red, corduroy reading pillow that has followed me from college all those decades ago and slowly open a small, bound book. Pen in hand, I take a deep breath and begin a scribbled conversation that has kept me sane since my April diagnosis of synchronous cervical and uterine cancers. That book, this pen, those words are my free therapy. And I am better for them.

The magic of words was made plain to me in childhood. I taught myself to type on Mom’s gunmetal gray, Royal Underwood typewriter, pecking away on two fingers to churn out a neighborhood newsletter. Adolescence brought dreams of growing up to study Creative Writing, joining a writers’ colony in the Vermont woods and becoming the next Nikki Giovanni, Alice Walker, Gwendolyn Brooks…you see where this is going? Well, as too often happens, adulthood altered those dreams, and this English Literature major became a government trial lawyer in Massachusetts—still using words to shrewdly sway jurors and to sharply skewer opponents—but I always maintained a growing collection of blank verse, short stories, and other musings that one day could be shared with somebody. Anybody.

Doris’s cancer journal

Perhaps all that explains why one of the first errands I made immediately after my diagnosis was a search for the right journal to house my feelings—all the scary, happy, and unnamed things that would come my way along this journey. This vessel could not be flimsy or cheesy. No, buddy. This word-keeper had to be worthy of the emotions that would leak out onto its pages. Here is where I would explain how this “cancer thang” discombobulated us all. 

I had always proclaimed that I planned to blow out candles at my centennial birthday party. How could the threat of mortality come knocking at my door now, when my married daughter in Mississippi (Lord help us) needed me after giving birth to our first grandchild in March? And my son was 2,000 miles away in the Boston area, having just survived a divorce and a torn Achilles tendon. He had a hard time handling my illness. My husband was trying mightily to cope with his own anxieties about my health and all the myths and stigmas associated with cancer. This was way too much for a cheap, lightweight notebook. Only a special book could cradle those complicated realities.

My chosen, pink pen pal has never failed me. Its sturdy pages have given me space to vent about the things it has been hard to articulate to folks: the chest port that feels reminiscent of alien abduction anecdotes; the tutorial on dilator use that made the nursing assistant blush; the way I could discern the texture of food (even water), yet not its taste; the exhilarating freedom of a shaved head displayed to all the world. And it has let me weep onto its cream-tinted pages, wrinkled testament to the overwhelming sadness that comes with this journey at the oddest times. 

This journal is so much more than frequently illegible cursive words. No, these pages are quite often a battle cry, this warrior’s call to arms against the most unexpected enemy: her own cells. These pages are like an old-timey, gutbucket, blues chart from backwoods juke joint—a full-throated, belly-wail of agony and joy, growled by one who knows the score (literally and figuratively) and ain’t afraid to tell you all about it. And, always, always, that hard-cover book is my hymnal, sketching lines of praise to Him in Whose armor I outfit myself every day. This little unassuming book contains uniquely metered lyrics of love and faith and strength. 

I will write my way out of this Egypt. The inked lines will chart the path to my Red Sea….

A sixth generation Texan from San Antonio, Doris Helene White earned a B.A. from Central State University in Ohio (an historically black institution) and a juris doctorate from Boston University School of Law. Her career in the government sector as a Massachusetts trial attorney reaffirmed her commitment to an equitable legal system. Retired in 2014, Doris returned home, where she indulged a passion for writing, became an amateur advocate for the history of African Americans in these United States and continued active affiliation with San Antonio Black Lawyers Association, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Jack and Jill of America, Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church and other community organizations. Her husband Steven Soares, daughter Dr. Leigh Soares and son Steven Cooper Soares lead the best “cancer posse” in the galaxy!