Cancer Friend Hotline with Saranne

I want to share with you a really cool strategy that I've used throughout most of my life.

It used to be for relationship crises when I was young.

You know, you date the person who is breaking your heart and you have that friend that you could call when you're just feeling so sad about the relationship.

Well, I applied that to my cancer journey.

And it really served me well.

And I've used it to help other people through their cancer journey.

And it's a quick tool, but it's a useful tool.

Have a 911 friend.

What does that mean? It means that you have one person that's agreed for this period of time while you're going through treatment or right into survivorship.

that they pretty much don't have a boundary in terms of when you could reach out to them.

Now, it's a big commitment, but boy, does it come in handy.

So this friend or family member, colleague is willing to pick up your phone call pretty much 24 hours a day.

If you need them, they'll pick up.

Now, hopefully it won't be so many times that they can't get any work done.

But it's really important to have that person by your side, wherever they are in the world, that can just take that phone call.

Now, when wouldn't you call them? If you're having a medical emergency and 911 is the number that you call in your country to get emergency medical help to your side, then you call emergency medical help.

This is more of the softer stuff.

This is more of the mental health stuff that isn't at the emergency level.

If you're having that issue, then we need to help you call a suicide hotline or the hotline in your area that helps with mental health crises.

This person is for when you just feel the world is too big, this treatment is just too overwhelming, and you have to vent your feelings.

You can vent depression, anger, anxiety, fear, overwhelm, but you need that person that's just going to take your call.

You don't have to over-explain context.

You can just really share that the world is too big and they don't have to fix it.

They just have to receive that call so you don't feel so all alone in this cancer experience.

Now, your calls might get more frequent right after you finish cancer treatment because it's all hitting you, oh my goodness, what you've just been through.

I want to share with you a really cool strategy that I've used throughout most of my life.

It used to be for relationship crises when I was young.

You know, you date the person who is breaking your heart and you have that friend that you could call when you're just feeling so sad about the relationship.

Well, I applied that to my cancer journey.

And it really served me well.

And I've used it to help other people through their cancer journey.

And it's a quick tool, but it's a useful tool.

Have a 911 friend.

What does that mean? It means that you have one person that's agreed for this period of time while you're going through treatment or right into survivorship.

that they pretty much don't have a boundary in terms of when you could reach out to them.

Now, it's a big commitment, but boy, does it come in handy.

So this friend or family member, colleague is willing to pick up your phone call pretty much 24 hours a day.

If you need them, they'll pick up.

Now, hopefully it won't be so many times that they can't get any work done.

But it's really important to have that person by your side, wherever they are in the world, that can just take that phone call.

Now, when wouldn't you call them? If you're having a medical emergency and 911 is the number that you call in your country to get emergency medical help to your side, then you call emergency medical help.

This is more of the softer stuff.

This is more of the mental health stuff that isn't at the emergency level.

If you're having that issue, then we need to help you call a suicide hotline or the hotline in your area that helps with mental health crises.

This person is for when you just feel the world is too big, this treatment is just too overwhelming, and you have to vent your feelings.

You can vent depression, anger, anxiety, fear, overwhelm, but you need that person that's just going to take your call.

You don't have to over-explain context.

You can just really share that the world is too big and they don't have to fix it.

They just have to receive that call so you don't feel so all alone in this cancer experience.

Now, your calls might get more frequent right after you finish cancer treatment because it's all hitting you, oh my goodness, what you've just been through.