After her remission from cancer, Christine’s friends abandoned her just when she needed them most |
Christine’s* friends and family had been pillars of support after her cancer diagnosis. Her community responded quickly and consistently while she underwent treatment – home-delivered meals, child-minding, lifts to medical appointments, even an online fundraiser to help with living costs while she was unable to work.
A year on, Christine was thrilled to share news of remission. But after feeling buoyed by dozens of congratulatory messages and a celebratory group dinner, she felt an abrupt shift within her friendship group. Daily check-ins and offers of help dwindled, replaced by an expectation to “get back to normal”. Christine also felt a shift within herself, noticing she felt flat most days and was increasingly consumed by thoughts of her illness and recollections of treatment and procedures. She felt as if her friends were abandoning her just as she needed them most.
Christine coped well initially following diagnosis, remarking that it must seem odd that she sought therapy after remission. Everyone is different, I assured her, and there is no wrong or right time to seek assistance. In fact, psychological distress after remission or at end of treatment is not unusual; there’s little time for reflection during the blur of appointments and procedures following diagnosis, with many patients unconsciously detaching from psychological aspects of their experience in order to focus on physical health and persevere through necessary medical protocols. It is common to experience a........