Lymphoma Awareness Month

It's September, and that means it's Lymphoma Awareness Month!

Hurray!

If you've been reading for a while, you now I have mixed feelings about this month. On the one hand, I am very much aware of Lymphoma -- I've been living with it for almost 15 years. I don't need a reminder tat the end of every summer.

On the other hand, cancer awareness months in general are not really for the people who have that cancer. It's more important that others become aware of them. And that's true for a couple of reasons. 

First, people need to be aware of cancers because it might help them avoid those cancers. I site like Know Your Nodes from Lymphoma Canada can help people understand what their lymph nodes are and what they are supposed to do. And that means they might know their nodes well enough to know when there is a problem. That knowledge may help them catch a cancer early enough to treat it.

Second, people need to be aware of cancers because it may help with raising money for research for certain cancers. In the U.S., there's no doubt that the cancer that people are most "aware" of is breast cancer, and people and businesses donate lots of money to help breast cancer patients and fund research. Whatever you feel about pink ribbons (and cancer patients of all kinds have some very strong feelings about them), we all know what they mean. That kind of awareness is very effective.

There's a third reason to want to raise awareness. It can help as patients understand that we're not alone.

I was in a meeting yesterday with some other cancer patients about a project we might all be working on in the future. It's always interesting to talk to other cancer patients. We have so many common experiences. We shared some information about our own cancers, and how people often misunderstand them. We talked about the stupid things people have said to us that were hurtful, and that people didn't realize were so hurtful. We talked about the kinds of things that cancer patients need. And even though we had four different cancers -- all very different cancers -- we realized how much we have in common. There's something about cancer that's just different from other diseases. 

So maybe that is the value of awareness months -- it gives us a chance to share with one another. There's great value in knowing that others have been through the same thing you have been through. The details might be a little different. But the experience is the same.

Maybe that's the best way to "celebrate" this month. Find a way to connect with other patients, Consider attending a workshop or program from a group like The Lymphoma Research Foundation. Join a support group, in person or online. Find a story about Lymphoma and comment on it and ask questions. It's not so much about becoming aware as it is about sharing that awareness.

I hope this is a good month for you. Maybe it gives you an opportunity to stop and reflect, and think more about where you are right now. And if that's hard, that's OK. We all have periods in our lives as cancer patients when we just can't think any more about being a patient. Hopefully, those moments pass, and we find some peace.

Happy Lymphoma Awareness Month.