Sometimes you go in for a scan and you know something is already wrong.
Other times you go in and the results come out of nowhere.
Either way, someone in a white coat says "You have cancer."
From that moment, everything is turned upside down. You stop listening. You stop hearing. You sink into yourself. Your life becomes a movie reel at 78x speed.
It doesn't last long. You start to hear the doctor again, but by this time, things have been said that you missed and now he or she is talking about things that don't have a context.
THAT is what it's like to get a cancer diagnosis. For me, it was an overwhelming sense of loss, of security, of the ground beneath me. And I knew I had cancer when I went in for my first scan!
I like my life organized. I like to know that, on Tuesday, I am cooking chicken parmesan after I get home at 4:15, relax for a half hour with my microwave cup of leftover coffee, and I get started with dinner.
The Cancer Rug pulled that away and pretty much covered my head with it.
From the get-go, I pulled out a spiral notebook and started with the notes. What had Wanda, the nurse at Evergreen, told me? What were her exact words. What was the date she said to meet with Oncology Social Services. Who was my Nurse Navigator that would be calling: Suzanne or Susan?
My next appointment was four days out. I had so many questions for the Nurse Navigator. I started out writing on Post It notes. That quickly got out of control.
One night when I couldn't sleep (of which there was at least eight weeks worth until chemotherapy started) I started my Cancer Organizer.
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I felt like I was getting some control back. Not much, mind you - hello, I just got told I had Stage II Triple Positive Invasive Mammary Carcinoma. But I felt like I could walk into an appointment and actually participate in the conversation. Almost six years out of diagnosis (and, as far as we know, Cancer Free) I decided to make the organizer pretty, add some things that remained on post it notes, create some pages that really would have been helpful, and make it public.
It is a download, printable PDF file. You can print as many pages as you want. There are multiple designs of some pages because the one that resonates with my brain, may not resonate with yours.
It is designed to be printed on 8-1/2 x11 standard copy paper, double sided if desired, and placed in a binder or folder. It is designed to be transported back and forth between appointments, kept at home for middle-of-the-night notes, or pretty much kept anywhere. It's designed for other people to also take notes on. I know my brain would shut down at times and I'd lose whole swaths of conversation. Luckily my husband was listening and could take the notes for me to review later.
This makes a great gift for someone who has just been diagnosed with any type of cancer. I'm telling you - it gives you a teensy tiny piece of control, when the whole world is spinning out of control.
There are over 60 pages that you can print.
Included are pages for:
- Diagnosis Details
- Medical Appointment Summary Page
- Treatment Plan Options
- To Do List
- Appointment Calendar by month (5 options)
- Medical Team Contact List
- Medical Contacts
- Insurance Information
- Medication Information
- Message Phone Log
- Caregiver Instructions
- Support Schedule (2 options)
- Weekly Menu Planner (4 Options)
- Chemotherapy Symptom Tracker (2 pages)
- Radiation Appointments
- Radiation Side Effects
- Daily Schedule (2 options)
- Self-Care Inspiration
- Bucket List
- Habit Tracker (2 options)
- Progress Tracker Coloring Pages (4 options
- Notes (2 options)
- Relaxation Techniques
- Inspirational Quotes
- Support Suggestions
- ....and so many more!
