Beating Cancer in Heels: I thought you were my friend

If you are lucky, people are bringing awareness to your life-threatening illness. They might be raising money for the cure or trying to get people to seek treatment in their medical center but what about everything else?

What about the emotional roller coaster that you are going through? Why is this not as important? Personally, I feel that you could inject me with all the drugs you want to “cure me” with, but if I keep feeling defeated by life outside of my illness, I don’t know how much they will help.

Through my cancer journey, I had no idea how life outside my cancer center would play out when it came to other people’s reaction to it. With that being said, I was certain that my friends would be nothing but positive people in my life through this very challenging time.

I thought that it would make all of my friendships stronger and open our eyes to this new life awakening full of epiphanies and realizations. In fact, I was so secure in all of my friendships at that time that I gave them a very high level of importance in my own life.

Little did I know that not only would I lose some friendships but they would have caused me some of the worst emotional pain during and after my road to recovery.

On the flip side, I made new and some of the most deepest friendships during and after my treatments. To be honest, I learned a lot through all that pain. I learned that you really learn who your friends are at your worst times in your life and that some people are worth giving a second chance to.

You might be dealing with something similar and aren’t quite sure how to deal with it, or the pain for that matter. You might not even want to deal with anything else but yourself. Whatever the case is, you are worth having someone cheering you on and possibly providing some positive emotional support through this time. So Coachee, let’s get you through this emotional hiccup and find you some real FRIENDSHIPS!

Ask yourself…

What type of friendships do I need to help me through this time?

Who makes me feel better about what I am going through?

Do I want to build a friendship with someone who went through something similar?

What type of behaviors from others can I not deal with at this current time?

Am I communicating enough to my friends about what it is that I need from them?

Am I focusing on the right people?

Life Coach TIP: Don’t forget that people have their own lives and struggles too.

Empowerment: Be your own friend first!

Inspiration for the week: A group of women surprised their friend by shaving their heads as a symbol of their support through her chemotherapy. This is proof that some friends go above and beyond in time of need. http://www.buzzfeed.com/maycie/a-group-of-women-surprised-their-friend-with-breas

Calming sentence of the week: Don’t let one heart break ruin it for others or yourself.

That’s it for today, Coachee! Stay tuned for more tips and stories from your Life Coach Marlena!

If you are interested in being coached one on one please contact me at Marlena@MarlenaLC.com. You can also follow me on Facebook, Marlena Ortiz.

I am offering half off 12 coaching sessions with me throughout the summer to all my Home Reporter readers. Contact me and mention the code #ILOVETheHomeReporter!

REMEMBER: Women between the ages of 20-40 diagnosed with Cancer are free through the nonprofit BeatingCancerInHeels.org.