{"id":1413,"date":"2016-08-26T01:14:27","date_gmt":"2016-08-26T01:14:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cancerhopenetwork.org\/?p=1413"},"modified":"2022-06-14T19:16:41","modified_gmt":"2022-06-14T19:16:41","slug":"life-is-short-enjoy-it-every-day-from-depression-to-hope-to-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cancerhopenetwork.org\/blog\/life-is-short-enjoy-it-every-day-from-depression-to-hope-to-help\/","title":{"rendered":"Lessons from a tongue cancer survivor.","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cLife is short. Enjoy it every day.\u201d
<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those words, spoken by so many, take on new meaning when Support Volunteer John, a tongue cancer survivor says them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John remembers the time after his tongue cancer treatment ended well. \u201cFollowing treatment, I was in the hospital for a month in a step-down unit. When I got home, I got a call from a volunteer. I wasn\u2019t feeling much like talking, was hardly speaking at all in fact, so they filled my family in on what was going on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Request a free and confidential peer match<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Treatment was difficult \u2013 including learning to talk with a portion of his tongue gone. When he returned home, it was difficult acclimating to his new normal. \u201cMy family and friends were hiding from me when they ate. Smelling food and not being able to have it was torture,\u201d he remembers. \u201cI had to fight through depression.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding Hope: from 9-11 to a degree in social work<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A young, healthy non-smoker and non-drinker, John spent his career in New York law enforcement and suspects his diagnosis is related to his service after 9\/11. But rather than focus on that, he has channeled all of his energy into helping others. He has recently completed his degree in Social Work and is now working as a champion for elderly clients. It\u2019s a lightning pace, but for him, it\u2019s worth it. \u201cMy diagnosis gave me the desire to help. I would probably have been a good social worker before, but this gives me a little extra empathy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m so grateful to have had the support system that I did,\u201d John recalls. \u201cMy father took a year of FMLA leave to take me back and forth to appointments. My mother would work all day, stay up with me all night and go back to work the next day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John’s advice: ask for help<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He encourages patients and caregivers to connect with a Support Volunteer. \u201cThere are people out there who went through it. They\u2019re the best informal support that you\u2019re gonna find. I was lucky. I know there are people out there who don\u2019t have that support. That\u2019s why I volunteer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cancer Hope Network provides free one-on-one emotional support to adult cancer patients and their loved ones by matching them with trained Support Volunteers. Each of CHN\u2019s 400+ volunteers is at least one year post-treatment or successfully undergoing maintenance therapies. CHN serves cancer patients in the United States and Canada. To speak with a volunteer, call 877.467.3638 or <\/em>click below.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tongue cancer survivor & CHN Support Volunteer John shares his story.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":23,"featured_media":8769,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[105,98,106],"post_folder":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLessons from a tongue cancer survivor.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tongue cancer survivor & CHN Support Volunteer John shares his story.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cancerhopenetwork.org\/blog\/life-is-short-enjoy-it-every-day-from-depression-to-hope-to-help\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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