Healing Connections
Like any other difficult human experience, mesothelioma pain is made more bearable by connection with other people who can understand what you're going through. Here are several kinds of connections that mesothelioma patients have found particularly helpful in living with their pain.
Self-help and support groups
No one understands your situation as well as someone else going through the same experience. Other people facing challenges from the same illness can provide valuable information, solutions to practical problems, and the knowledge that you are not alone. Support and caring in a safe environment can be one of the most powerful boosts you can get. Some support groups are run by health care professionals, but more often they are led by people with cancer.
Support groups encourage people to talk about their fears and concerns in a psychologically safe, non-confrontational setting. They may talk about difficult family relationships, share what they have learned from their disease, and group members who have died. They also work on improving communication with surgeons and oncologists. Group members often get together outside the group.
Emotional support
A diagnosis of mesothelioma can turn your life upside down, and harrow your life with terror and anger, anxiety and depression. These intense feelings can interfere with your ability to cope. They can also actually increase your pain. If feelings about your illness have stayed very intense, getting help in dealing with them will be an essential part of managing your pain. For most people, the single most helpful thing is talking with someone you trust.
That may be your partner, your children, another relative, or an old friend. If you're unable to find someone in your life you can talk to, you may want to ask your doctor to refer you to a counselor. Recovering your balance with feelings is an important part of managing your pain. You may also want to consider taking an anti-depressant or an anti-anxiety medication to smooth out the rougher patches, and increase your ability to manage your feelings.
Spiritual connection
An illness like mesothelioma comes as an unwelcome surprise in anyone's life. Serious illness often leads people to question their lives. No longer can they take things for granted. After a diagnosis of mesothelioma a person may find his or her faith severely shaken. Even people who are not regular worshippers may suffer considerable spiritual pain.
People often ask questions like 'Is there life after death?' or 'Why should the people I love suffer?' Such questions can shake our deepest beliefs, and cause great emotional and spiritual distress which actually increases their physical pain. People often feel angry or guilty and worry about how the mesothelioma will affect their family now and in the future.
You may feel isolated or frightened, and want to withdraw from the people around you. Talking to someone about your spiritual questions can help. You may want to speak to a hospital chaplain, or a local minister.