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| May 19, 2016 Shelton Mason County Journal |  |
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, Page A-18 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, May 19, 2016
THE ROLE OF SUPPORT GROUPS
.S
continued from page A- 17
"When you get a diagnosis, you
operate on adrenaline," she said.
"It's one thing after another and
everybody comes together when
you get a diagnosis. And then,
you're in remission and it's been
three months, six months, and
everyone goes on their merry way.
But you still have a cancer diagno-
sis. That doesn't go away."
Trout said several of the people
who utilize the support group are
in remission. However, the cancer
is still a constant fear in their
lives, which can be hard for friends
and loved ones to understand.
In addition to running the sup-
port group at Mason General,
Trout has had experience on the
other side - nearly two decades
ago, her daughter was diagnosed
with tumors in her brain.
Trout described her daughter's
last day of chemotherapy as ter-
rifying, because the fighting was
over. While her daughter was
under physicians' care, Trout said
she felt like they were moving
forward. But once that ended, she
didn't know what to do.
"Nobody brings meals anymore,
nobody helps anymore because
they feel like -- most people think
you've gotten through it," she said.
"But that's when that person, they
really start to let go."
Even though her daughter has
been tumor-free for more than
15 years, Trout still tears up as
she talks about the diagnosis and
treatment.
Debra Dozier understands liv-
ing with that constant knowledge
that cancer is inside her.
Fourteen years ago, Dozier was
diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lym-
phoma, a condition where the body
produces too many of a certain type
of abnormal white blood cells.
Instead of immediate treat-
ment, doctors told Dozier they
wanted to monitor her condition,
because it wasn't at a detrimental
level.
For 11 years, doctors observed
her progress, until, out of the blue,
the cancer metastasized.
"It was very fast and dramatic,"
Dozier said. "Within six months, it
had really spread."
The following year was full of
chemotherapy and radiation treat-
ments. ~ ..
Dozier is now in remission, but
she said that doesn't mean she has
stopped thinking about the cancer.
"It's devastating to all of a sud-
den have an expiration date," she
said. "You don't know what it is,
but you know it's there."
Dozier said she attended a
three-day retreat at Harmony
Hill while undergoing treatment,
where she learned about survivor-
ship and altering her mentality
about cancer.
"These days, people don't die
of cancer," she said. "You have to
learn to honor that part of your-
self."
Dozier said the retreat helped
her learn to love and care for her-
self during the cancer treatment.
However, al r she finished her
chemotherapy treatment and the
cancer was declared in remission,
she said she felt she still needed
support.
She saw an advertisement for
the support group at Mason Gen-
eral last year, and decided to at-
tend a meeting.
Even though the group is small,
Dozier said the outpouring of sup-
port is enormous.
"Cancer is a part of you, and it
will never stop," Dozier said, add-
ing that even if she's not actively
fighting cancer, someone else in
the group might be. "Hopefully, I
can support others."
Goodburn said the type of sup-
port she received from the support
group is different from the support
family or friends can give.
"My daughters are wonderful,
but they don't really know what it's
like," she said. "Anyone can say, 'I
feel badly,' but you don't even know
until you get a diagnosis."
Ronnie Hacken, who facilitates
support groups at Harmony Hill
and Mason General, said she
sees this mentality with cancer
patients oP~en. Because friends or
family want to feel like the crisis
is over and dealt with, they often
don't understand why the person
with cancer doesn't put the cancer
in the past as soon as they're in
remission.
"People with cancer know it's
never in the past; you always have
an awareness of having cancer,"
Hacken said.
The support groups aren't just
for people with cancer though, as
all of the facilitators mention. An-
yone whose life has been affected
by cancer can attend the meeting
and share their thoughts.
"We're kind of all in it to-
gether," Trout said. "Most of us
are going to end up with cancer
in our body at some point, or with
somebody who has had cancer.
So as much as we can, we should
have those coping skills to move
forward in life with it."
Faith support more than se een years ago when ofthe congregation
vasa nec .
i • fromallwalks lifeattendedthegroup, we to l'addttested
tire for care:er in years, to diagnosed.
- Support has a staple at Iris open bycancer
ae, disnot to on
ptakes ptace at 10 a.m. onthe (hut(h, locatedat 1212Con-
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