Page 45 - The Freckled Eye - Book

Chapter 8 Friends and Family, You Can Count On

Hearing that you have cancer is indescribable. It’s one of those thing that until
you’ve experienced it, then and only then, will you truly know that fear. It’s a
lot to hear, it's a lot to carry. That’s why it’s so important to surround yourself
with friends and family that love you. It’s easy to get lost in the fear of
sometime like this and it’s friends and family that can help pull you out when
things get dark. My family and friends were my lighthouse I clung to, guiding
me through my worst life storm imaginable. They were the light that lit the
way, I grabbed on and followed it. This storm was to big for me alone. There
were many days each of my dear friends and family helped me pull through,
not letting me get too far down the rabbit hole and stop living or living in fear.

I remember Dr. Phan telling me not to look up eye cancer on the internet. She
said the information was scary and wouldn’t be helpful. I thought, if a doctor
is telling me not to look it up, I am not looking it up. That was some advice I’d
take holy heartedly. This was a big stress reliever that my family and friends
took care of. They’d look up the information and spoon feed it to me as I was
ready. I didn’t need any more stress on my plate. I can assure you. I can’t
imagine not having my support system.

I remember earlier in my journey, one of my friends reached out to me to put
me in touch with another girl name Terri who had cordial eye
melanoma. Can you believe it? Another Terri going through this exact same
thing. She was about 8 months ahead of me in the process, so my friend
thought it would be good for us to connect.

Within a few days, I reached out to her for support and to hear her
experience. I was really looking forward to our conversation, especially since
this type of cancer is so rare. There’s no one you can really turn to, because
this cancer is so rare. But here, out of the blue, was another Terri going
through the same thing I was. I was beginning to feel a sense of relief, to
finally have someone to talk to that knew exactly what you were going
through. Up until that point, I’d never heard of anyone having choroidal eye
melanoma before. There aren't huge support groups out there like there are
for other types of cancers. I’d been feeling alone in this experience and was
excited about having someone to talk to about what I was going through.

Once Terri and I had connected, she filled me in on her experience. I could
her the fear in her voice, as she shared with me her experience. It was so