I get it

A friend reached out to me asking if I knew of any cancer support groups.

I immediately knew that all the hospitals have support groups for survivors and those living with cancer.
I knew of LIVESTRONG and their ties to the YMCA.

No. Not that kind of support group, she said.
The kind where people just get it.

That's the thing.
The support groups where you go into the hospital (where you had all your treatment) (where you get flashbacks and hot flashes the second you step into said hospital)
the groups where you sit around with a cup of coffee talking about..
 how exercise is important
how you need to do your follow up visits
how you should be eating less ice cream and more kale and almonds

That's not the support group we always crave.
(Relax. They’re totally needed. Just not always what we want)

The groups we often DO want?

I have no sex drive
My fake boob doesn't fit into my bra
I have more GI problems than my spouse wants to hear about
I want to puke because I have my 3 month follow up

Those support groups - where are you?

I found my own village by the grace of god (and social media)
Truth.
Once diagnosed;  friends reached out who said, I have a friend who had (mastectomy, chemo, radiation, reconstruction,  infections, drains that didn't drain,  surgeries and more surgeries, mouth sores, neuropathy, folliculitis, constipation, yada yada and yada)

Those friends?
Those were my people.
Those were the people who got me through 12 weeks of chemo, 35 radiation treatments,  a year of infusion treatments, a breast implant (only to be removed and replaced by my stomach being made into a breast), surgery upon surgery, issues upon issues.

My best friends?
Invaluable!
My husband?
My punching bag. The person who held me up (literally and figuratively) and loved me when I was bald.

But those who have been there?
Undeniably the people who not only got me through it, but those who are still getting me through it.

Cancer does not end once your treatment ends.
I've said many times that it's the gift that keeps on freakin giving.

So the online world- who I met through mutual friends or fb groups or what have you
are the ones I still reach out to today
to say Im having anxiety because I need my annual MRI
or to talk about my phantom itching in the breast that isn't even a breast
to cry that I hate my scars, even though they're faded.

Why are there not more support groups out there?
The ones we really really need.
The ones that will continue well after our port comes out and our hair grows back.

If you have found my blog by accident
or because a friend told you about me
or I know you in real life and you are going through this god awful disease

I promise you
I am here for you
Any time
Please reach out

I get it