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Life After Cancer: The Grief No One Warns You About

Published 1 week ago
Description

Nobody warns you that surviving cancer means grieving the person you used to be. Not the diagnosis, not the treatment — her. The version of you who trusted her body, who didn't flinch at every ache, who didn't know what a scan felt like.

In this episode of Not Today Cancer, Jen goes deep on one of the most overlooked parts of life after treatment: the quiet grief of losing your "before" self — and why naming it is the first step to healing. If you've ever felt guilty for mourning who you were when you're "supposed" to just be grateful, this one's for you.

Jen also walks you through her new series, The After — the truths no one prepares you for once treatment ends.

In this episode:

  • Why life after treatment is its own kind of hard (and why "you're done!" feels so confusing)
  • What "disenfranchised grief" is — the grief the world doesn't make space for
  • The specific things we grieve: the body you trusted, your innocence, your sense of safety, the future you'd pictured
  • Why gratitude and grief can live side by side
  • A simple practice to move through it — name her, write the letter, say goodbye and hello
  • The hope on the other side: post-traumatic growth, and the 5 ways survivors grow

"You're allowed to miss who you were… and love who you're becoming."

🤍 Follow The After on Instagram: @jendelvaux 💬 Join the community: jendelvaux.com/ntc

Links and resources:

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