Celebrate the Trail to Recovery: Power of the Positive Post-Diagnosis of Cancer

Abstract

This paper explored how those in treatment for cancer, or in remission from it, benefitted from participation in a weekly hiking program. Fredrickson's (2001) broaden-and-build concept was used to structure and demonstrate the ability of participants to create and store positive emotions from their experiences hiking with fellow survivors of cancer. The broaden-and-build concept embraces aspects of social support, posttraumatic growth, life course development, and subjective well-being, thus suggesting its value in articulating the positive growth of those who participated in the program and this study. Through semi-structured interviews, survivors of cancer shared stories about their participation in the hiking program, and how it was beneficial to their recovery process and discovery of their Bnew normal.K eywords Cancer . Leisure . Positive psychology . NatureIt was an early winter morning and the temperature was low and the breeze was stiff. We had a small group out hiking that day, just seven of us in total, broken up in to two groups. I was up at the front of the pack with Paula (70, breast cancer, double mastectomy) and Clara (59, breast cancer), and Paula mentioned that she was celebrating her five year mark of Bno evidence of disease^(NED). Clara perked up, smiled, and said, BI'll be there in six months!^Then Paula said, BYou know, I feel like I've come a long way from that diagnosis. I was down in the dumps for a while, but now, now I know I have a lot to look forward to.^Clara and I both nodded in agreement, and we walked in silence for a while, letting the sun coat our faces and the leaves dance in front of us, seemingly a celebration of her accomplishment. -From the author's journal Int J Sociol Leis (2018) 1:215-226 https://doi

Tell cancer to take a hike: post traumatic growth on the trail to recovery

“…As is the case, frequent immersion in nature has been linked to higher reports of perceived wellbeing (Capaldi, Passmore, Nisbet, Zelenski, & Dopko, 2015;Harmon, 2018). The positive effects of exposure to natural environments has been found to help people work through problems in their lives (Mayer, Frantz, Bruehlman-Senecal, & Dolliver, 2009), thus making participation in regularly scheduled hikes a significant opportunity to find healing and catharsis over time.…”

Tuesdays with Worry: appreciating nature with a dog at the end of life

“…Dogs can be a 'catalyst' to start conversations that are difficult to have for people with cancer (Browder, 2009), thus improving the relationship between care provider and patient (Johnson et al, 2008). Not all health needs are attended to exclusively in medicalised settings or venues, therefore there remains a need for coping resources outside of hospitals and clinics, too, especially in the places where patients engage in a preferred leisure activity (Harmon, 2018). Building on the unique relationships that are often established between humans and dogs (Kulick, 2017), this manuscript seeks to illustrate how one person with terminal cancer built a friendship with a dog while spending time in nature.…”