- With Mayo Clinic nurse educator
Sheryl M. Ness, R.N.
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Sheryl M. Ness, R.N.
Sheryl M. Ness
Sheryl Ness, R.N., O.C.N., is a nurse educator for the Cancer Education Program at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. She helps inform patients, families and caregivers about services and resources to help them through the cancer journey.
She has a master's degree in nursing from Augsburg College. In addition, she is an assistant professor of oncology at the College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, and is certified as a specialist in oncology nursing. Sheryl has worked for more than 20 years at Mayo Clinic as an educator. She has a keen interest in the importance of the quality of life and concerns of people living with cancer.
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Living with cancer blog
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Jan. 15, 2011
Terminal cancer diagnosis leads to grief, loss
By Sheryl M. Ness, R.N.
This is a heavy topic to discuss; however, many of you have mentioned that you're dealing with a terminal diagnosis.
Grief is a strong, overwhelming emotion, regardless of whether your sadness comes from the loss of a loved one or from a terminal diagnosis that you or someone you love has received. You might find that you feel numb and disconnected from your daily life, unable to carry on with your regular routine as you're dealing with the emotions and sadness of grief.
Grief is the natural reaction to loss. Grief is both a universal and a personal experience. Individual experiences of grief vary and are influenced by the nature of the loss. It's important to remember while you're grieving that you can't control the process and to prepare for varying stages of grief. Some emotions you may experience during the grieving process include:
- Denial
- Anger
- Bargaining
- Depression
- Acceptance
Grieving doesn't always follow the stages above, but you may experience many of these feelings as you deal with the reality of a terminal diagnosis. A host of emotions are involved and normal. You might experience a sense of shock, sadness, guilt and fear along the way. Talking with others is sometimes helpful as you try to recover from the shock and adjust to a diagnosis of a terminal illness.
I want to have an open discussion about grief through this blog so that you might help each other with some of the feelings and emotions. It's not an easy discussion to have, so I admire your willingness to share.
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