2023-11-16 06:31:00
the essentials Cancer bruises both the body and the soul of patients. Faced with patients’ deep anxieties, speaking becomes a real therapeutic tool. Example in the Gers.
“When you encounter this illness, there is a pause in your life. And we must answer this question: why me? Discussion groups allow us to put words to the unthinkable. » Sylvie is in remission following lung cancer. But this Gersoise recognizes it: without the support groups, this “intimate crossing” would have been completely different.
In the Gers, the Cancer League is setting up, among many actions, meetings which bring together patients still undergoing treatment or who have completed them. “We conduct them during the pathological period, but we do not change the discussion group,” explains psychologist Martine Bonnet, who supports these patients. And they continue to come a good year following remission. »
Sylvie came for months, almost a year. She found people who shared the same questions, the same pains. “It’s not easy for those around you to cope with the illness,” notes the psychologist. This is an extraordinary situation, literally. And we often show too much or too little empathy. The support group is a door to a return to a more normal emotional, social or even professional life, if one can lead a normal life following cancer. »
A destabilizing “following”
She follows patients who are often disconcerted by the announcement of the illness, but who are supported throughout the treatment by the effervescence of the care and medical attention. “After” is more complex. Medical support disappears when remission arrives.
“Patients are demanding. They have difficulty situating themselves in a different time, a different life. This does not obvious. Many tell me: “Now that there is nothing left, I feel completely empty”. »
Facing death
Those who participate in these discussion groups can in fact express themselves in a direct, unvarnished manner, and address the greatest taboo: death. “We are faced with our own death,” Sylvie remembers. We can say things that we don’t allow ourselves to say to others, whether friends or family. And this word is a catharsis, we can put aside what causes suffering. Speaking liberates. The word is magical. »
The simple fact of sharing this experience of illness establishes a climate of trust, which makes real overcoming possible. “In this moment of exchange, there are no longer any social or cultural differences. We are all equal, we really meet and we all go through the same challenges. »
Although she is now in remission, Sylvie is still being monitored. She knows other people weren’t so lucky. “The question of our own finitude is specific to each person. But cancer forces us to ask ourselves, to look it in the face. It may seem unbelievable, but this ordeal made me stronger. And, I think, better. »
More information on the site internet of the Gers Cancer League
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