The Ultimate Support Group

In a message with the subject line: What DID help (was: Re: What would
have helped), I think that JoJo has provided a concise and eloquent
summary of some advantages of this List, especially for those who are on
the "after treatment ends" phase of the B-C journey.

For newcomers, I'll try to summarize here some noteworthy
characteristics of this List:

1) It provides benefits that can't be obtained from face-to-face
   support groups:

One can join or leave the list, post or not post, read or not read,
browse the archives (or not), form personal attachments with other List
members (or not), follow up on contacts or links that have been provided
(or not), etc., etc. There are no schedules, no geographical or temporal
barriers, and no need to do more than one wants, needs, or finds comfort
in doing. So, a very wide variety of "comfort zones" are available,
uniquely suited to the preferences of each individual List member.

Also, many List members find satisfaction in "giving back" to the List
and it's members the sort of knowledge, guidance and support that they
themselves have received. For example, many current members (and past
members whose messages are available via the archives) have special
skills or talents (e.g. in various areas of "patient advocacy", "peer
navigation" and/or "knowledge transfer", in the provision of novel or
intriguing points of view, unusual clarity of expression, or exceptional
empathy, compassion, tolerance or humor). In a great variety of ways,
all members add value of some kind to the List.

2) This List does involve some challenges:

They include discomfort with computers and the Internet, discomfort with
writing in English, discomfort with the way that the List functions, or
discomfort with its particular "sub-culture". The loss of some List
members can be very painful. So can the suffering of other List members,
even if those members are known only from their email messages.

And, of course, List members cannot ignore, or forget about, the great
variety of challenges that come from the complexities of breast cancer
itself. These include the associated complexities of the health care
system, and of coping with the impacts of the illness, and of the health
care system, on not only oneself, but also those with whom one has close
personal relationships. So, by choosing to participate in the List,
members accept it as a part of their total experience with breast
cancer. Sometimes, acceptance can be more difficult than denial.

--Jim

--
Sent from the mailing list archive site at
http://bclist.petebevin.com/
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