Pre-planning your Diagnosis

However life goes, there are always obstacles and barriers that get in our way. They range from forgetting your wallet at home to being diagnosed with terminal cancer. We all know what we need to do when we forget our wallet at home. We have done it once or twice in our lifetime and we’ve learned how to sidestep, pivot, or completely turn right around and go back to where we came from. The first panic instinct on what to do is always the worst feeling. Your brain freezes and you need a moment to regain your composure and remember you’ve done this before and that you have a plan.

When it comes to being diagnosed with an illness or condition, the same thought process goes through your head. The difference is you haven’t done this before. You have no idea what to do next, you don’t completely know how this will affect your day, week, or the rest of your life. Losing your wallet and being diagnosed with a terminal illness is completely two different things, but the process of knowing how to deal with it is quite similar, just on different scales. Instead of trying to figure out how you are going to try to survive on the spare change you have in your car or purse, you must figure out how you are going to survive the next chapter in your life. What’s this going to look like? What’s this going to cost me? What resources do I have? Who can help me? How can they help me? Which medical approach can I take? There are lots of questions and concerns when being diagnosed with a serious illness. Loved ones, family, and friends, are all affected and concerned about the situation, and it can become very overwhelming.

So, what’s your next move? Unfortunately, you can’t just turn around and go back and undo it. The best start is to start researching it, finding out what it is and how this will affect you. What point are you at versus when does it affect your everyday life? What’s the game plan for when it does? Are we quitting our job? Do we want to sell the house and down-size? Maybe move closer to family for more support. Will you need to move into a specific type of facility or community? What am I going to focus on going forward? Being with Family? Travelling? Keeping peace and lowering stress? Healthier diet? These are all great questions to ask yourself to help pre-plan the future. Trying to fit your focus in life, your day-to-day activities, your medical appointments, your responsibilities, your family time, and your lifestyle, all in together is very complicated and complex. Finding a solution to for each and every category while staying in your current position is probably unrealistic. Pre-planning each stage where you are and what your focus is during that time can help you reduce stress, keep yourself organized, and have the confidence going forward, and conquer your fears.

Pre-planning for that moment when the emotion is stronger than your will to think through the situation is priceless. Knowing what you are going to do and having the knowledge and game plan ready to be executed when that moment comes, will not only benefit yourself, but everyone around you.

Make sure you pre-plan your future for your diagnosis. Don’t be caught at the check-out scrambling for change.