Breast Cancer Balancing Act

There is a single imperative at the root of all the treatment, surgery and appointments we undertake on the breast cancer journey. To survive. Our preferences, likes and dislikes are entirely secondary. No matter how smooth the surface appearance, underneath we are operating in the most basic human state: survival. Depending on our past experiences, the severity of our diagnosis and the situation we are facing, our nervous system can be in a state of fight, flight, freeze, please or collapse. We may experience all of these states at different points on the journey. I did.

During treatment there is great effort involved in all the holding still required. We are overriding the body’s fundamental instinct to move away from what is painful. Biopsy, catheter insertion, undergoing chemo, laying still for radiation. All provoke an instinct to reject, to move away. All require stillness. An enormous amount of nervous system tension & bodily contraction is created as we undergo treatment.

Our mind & our nervous system want the same thing - survival & safety. In order to survive breast cancer we override our instinct for pain free safety in the moment & endure our procedures. Whether we faced this years ago or are currently engaged in treatment we honour ourselves by allowing our nervous system to discharge the huge amount of energy required for this paradoxical balancing act.

We can make an alliance between the mind & the nervous system using some accessible body based practices & awareness. In this we create an internal refuge, a space for safety to arise within.

I look forward to sharing this space with you,

Pru