Counselling - A waste of time?

 

All the way through the CHOPS and ESHAPS, I didn’t need counselling, so why should stem cell replacement be any different. I had already extensively read up all the books on lymphoma and studied all the web sites, so what could a counsellor tell me that I didn’t already know.

 

The answer is LOTS.

 

During the stem cell replacement I lost all interest in my computer, TV, even reading books. I just seemed to get my time in by snoozing or more often just looking at the wall. Now after a while looking at the wall is going to drive you nuts, especially when you’re in a small room on your own, and that’s what happened to me.

 

My wife suggested that I talk to a counsellor and I said I would give anything a go, so we asked the nurses to arrange it and waited to see what happened.

 

The Ulster Cancer Foundation had a counsellor who worked full time from the hospital, and she came to visit me. Her name is Ruth Potts., and we just sat and talked; or so I thought, as she took in everything I said, analyzed it, and found little problems that I didn’t even know I had. She then started explaining what I was feeling and why, and suggested ways that I could improve my lot, without really having to do too much. We had a couple of sessions together, and each time I felt much better after talking to her, and after taking her advice, things became a lot easier. There was nothing I couldn’t talk to her about, it was fantastic. So for what it’s worth, my suggestion is make friends with your counsellor right at the start of your cancer experience, and talk things through. It was the best thing I ever did.

 

I’m sure there are others, but the two names that I’ve seen most often are the Ulster Cancer Foundation, and the Macmillan Cancer Nurses.

 

Simply click on the links below to visit their sites.

 

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