This year continues to fly by, and it’s hard to believe that, for those of us in the US, Thanksgiving is already upon us! From there, we slide into the rush of the various winter holidays, from now through New Year’s Day. They always seem to sneak up on us. While the holidays can be a time of joy, celebration, connection, and rest, for many they can also bring a lot of stress with travel, shopping, family and social commitments. For those with a breast cancer diagnosis, this can be quite daunting.
For so many of us, the holidays are a time to reconnect with family and friends that we might not see as frequently during the rest of the year. While well-meaning, friends and families may question you about your treatment, or recovery process, please recognize that this can be emotionally draining. It’s your own choice as to how much you want to talk about it (or if you want to talk about it at all) and it’s important to set (and stick to) your own boundaries about how much you wish to share.
This year, our collective holiday plans might look different than just a few short years ago. Some might be ready to go all out and “make up for lost time” getting back to the traditions and gatherings we had postponed in 2020. Others might still be wary of travel or large gatherings. Again, it’s important to set your own personal boundaries, and participate in what you feel most comfortable with. There’s no need to run yourself ragged, saying yes to every holiday party invitation. It’s fine to say, “I’d love to see you, but this is such a busy time of year. Let’s meet up in January.”
Below we share several articles on how to take care of yourself during the holiday season so that it really can be “the most wonderful time of the year” for you.
“I think it all hit me when I was mid-air, on an airplane and heading south to visit my family for Thanksgiving. These feelings always come at the most inopportune time don’t they? I was doing what everyone usually does around Thanksgiving:
-My bags were packed,
-I was visiting family,
-The holiday cheer was in the air, and 30,000 feet somewhere over New York, it hit me, ‘I had cancer,’ wait no, ‘I survived cancer!’
As if somehow, I forgot what a tumultuous year I had endured; my hair was growing back, my energy level was increasing, I was back to work etc. I was living the ‘normal life’. But out of the blue, mid-air, I started to panic. My mind started to race and all I could focus on was the millions of ‘what if’ questions." Read More.
“Thanksgiving is about the traditions we’ve formed around the table. This year, I wanted to share some new ideas for how we can celebrate the holidays with a healthy spin as we continue to fuel our bodies and steel them against breast cancer!” Read More.
