Rerun: The Assertive Cancer Patient: Feels Surprisingly Happy

I originally posted this in August of 2006, one of the first posts to this blog. As I reread it, I realize how true it has been for me.

There are a number of clichés in the English language that link the words “healthy” and “happy.” We say, “As long as my children are healthy and happy …” Or, “As long as I have my health …” The underlying assumption is that you can’t be very happy if you have a serious illness.

Well, that has not been my experience. The years I have been living with cancer have certainly included some of the worse moments in my life, but they have also included some of the best. I don’t think I would have experienced life during the past few years with the same degree of intensity and joy if I had not been diagnosed with cancer. I am not alone in this. A number of cancer patients and cancer survivors have told me the same thing.

Recent research, published in February 2005 in The Journal of Experimental Psychology, confirms our experience. The study found that healthy people are not necessarily happier than seriously ill ones. In addition, the healthy participants in the study greatly overestimated how unhappy sick individuals would be, while the sick ones overestimated how happy the healthy ones were.

This doesn’t mean that you won’t have bad days, of course you will, but you will probably have more good days than bad.

I'll write more about some of the things that make me happy and help me cope with my cancer.

@ Jeanne Sather, 2006-2008.