Coping
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Spiritual Care
MeritCare offers spiritual care through our chaplains who are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. One of our chaplains, Sister Julie Caron offers some words of assistance to survivors:
The minute someone is given a cancer diagnosis that person becomes a survivor. Most patients say their diagnosis is a wake up call for them to get their lives in order. But what does "getting your life in order" mean?
Patients say this is a time to look at and deal with the existential questions: Why am I here, what am I doing with my life, what have I done with my life, have I made a difference, what kind of legacy am I leaving behind, will my family remember me?
These are all questions that spirituality can help to answer; whether you have a specific religion or not, humans are all spiritual beings. When we connect with the spiritual being within us, we find there the support, strength, and courage necessary to do what we need to do.
Many patients say they are not church goers, but the diagnosis of cancer has caused them to take notice of where they are in their spiritual journey; they begin to want to take the time to look at what is important and what is not.
Survivorship can provide many spiritual gifts: the knowledge of a strenuous journey, the feeling of being out of control, and what it means to let go. Survivors often dig deep into their inner being to find the strength and courage to walk through the doors of the Cancer Center. For those survivors who do, stand tall and congratulate yourselves; you have climbed the mountain and begun to understand the beautiful person that you may not have known you were.
If you desire a chaplain, please call MeritCare at (701) 234-2000 and ask to have one paged.