Every Monday afternoon for the last 12 years, everyday people who are battling or have survived cancer get together to share their experiences through journaling.
Survivors Writing Together is a journaling support group for individuals who have a current or past cancer diagnosis and will have been going strong for 12 years this May.
The group, which is co-facilitated by cancer survivors Eleanor Schick and Anjanette Cureton, welcomes survivors of cancer and defines a “survivor” from day one of diagnosis until death.
The idea of a writing group came to Schick, who previously wrote for the UNM Rio Grande Writing project, she said.
“When I got cancer, I knew I used writing to process all of my experience,” Schick said.
Schick then took her idea of a writing group for survivors to Cureton, who is senior clinical psychologist at the UNM Cancer Center.
The group initially set up a pilot program of four weeks. In the second week one of the participants asked the two if they were going to abandon them after the four weeks were up. The two looked at each other and together replied “no,” Schick said.
Although participants are never required to share with the group, Schick finds that most people choose to share even about difficult topics, she said.
“Interestingly most people do (share), because we began to really care about sharing our process with each other, and it’s become a very close community,” Schick said.
The focus of the writing done within the group is expressive writing — purely emotional writing with no goal of creating or crafting anything for publication, Cureton said.
“It’s been remarkable over these 12 years. We’ve had some people that have been in here since the first day, and we’ve had many people die over the years and we’ve had many people join. Not everyone stays, but this group is remarkable in the way it embraces all colors,” she said.
Despite additional guidelines such as confidentiality, taking care of yourself and holding the space for the person who’s speaking, many members will name the group as primary source of support in their lives, Cureton said.
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“It’s been a funny group over the years, there has been more laughter and giggling in a group of adults over the years then I have ever experienced,” she said.
One member, Joe Stephenson, was introduced to the group from a flyer and has been a member of the group for about 14 months, he said.
“It’s just such a nice bunch of people, and there’s so much openness and honesty. It’s just supportive to be with other people that have or have had cancer — it’s called ‘survivors,’ and I guess I’m a survivor until I die,” Stephenson said.
It’s amazing what some of the people have been through, he said, such as incredible surgeries and intense treatments.
“Based on my experience, nobody really understands who hasn’t had cancer, because it does things to your head that you would never imagine,” Stephenson said.
Another member, Gavriela de Boer, said that after her diagnosis she had a lot of people who cared about her, but she felt because no one in her life truly understood what she was going through.
The opportunity to be with a group of people who have also had cancer made a big difference, and her experiences with the group better and better each time she comes, she said.
“I don’t feel like I’m alone, I feel very accepted and understood. If something happens I can’t wait to get here and share it before I share it with anyone else, if I’m even going to share it with anyone else,” Boer said.
Boer said she feels like most of the members in the group are people she never would’ve met and formed friendships with. The individual members are all very different, she said.
“I feel such a bond with this group, every single person in it, whether I agree with them on things or not. It’s because I guess we’re not afraid to make ourselves vulnerable here,” Boer said.
For those survivors seeking a place where they can just feel safe in sharing, with no judgment and nobody trying to give them advice, Boer recommends checking out the group. Each member helps each other reach their own conclusions and decisions, and find their own strength to deal with whatever they need to deal with, she said.
“It’s been great for me, and it might be great for them,” she said.
The group meets every Monday at 2:30 p.m. at the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center, room 1048.
Nichole Harwood is a news reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Nolidoli1.
