The Phases of Recovery

Another View on the Process of Recovery from Cancer Survivor, Dave Colligan

I agree with Mike’s idea that recovery is a journey rather than a destination. Four and a half years on since my cancer diagnosis, I’m still officially in recovery with check-ups scheduled every 3-4 months, but it’s not like I’m actively receiving treatment anymore. So, to build on Mike’s view, I like to see recovery as a journey with different phases.

Phase One for me was the treatment stage. The chemo and radiotherapy probably couldn’t have been more effective on the tumours, but the side-effects of the drugs made things difficult at times. A major one was that the drugs practically wipe out your immune system for the period of the treatment, so any type of infection, even a minor cold, can be dangerous. I had to constantly monitor my body temperature, and if it increased by 0.5 degrees Celsius [Ed’s note: slightly less than 1 degree Fahrenheit] I was to call the hospital immediately and it generally meant a trip to the emergency room.

Phase Two is the post treatment stage where they regularly check to see if the cancer has relapsed. In contrast to Phase One, it has been (luckily) very straightforward. I get the results of check-ups approximately every four months. I’ve been in Phase Two for nearly four years now and the chances of the cancer reoccurring are becoming more remote by the day. However, the thing with cancer is you’re never really ‘cured’. Instead, you’re classified as being ‘in remission’.

Mike wants to keep this blog focused on TBI recovery and he and I discussed applying my phase idea to that. He thought that TBI recovery fits well in to a three phase structure with the extra phase at the beginning. Phase One becomes the period of time in Post Traumatic Amnesia before treatment can properly start. Then treatment and post treatment stages of my cancer example become Phases Two and Three.

Mike thought that the distinction between the treatment and post treatment stages wasn’t always clear for TBI recovery. He said, “Even after discharge from, say, a rehabilitation centre, a recoverer may well continue to seek help for specific problems, as I’ve been doing.” But he still thought a phases approach very worthwhile.

The nice thing about the phase idea is that it’s good for motivation. You don’t feel like recovery is one endless slog. Yes, it goes on and on, but, if you keep in mind the different phases, it does so in a clear, structured way.

Dave