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Feeling Lost After Cancer? How I Found My Way Through the Aftermath
- Ryn Sloane
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Have you ever worked SO hard to get somewhere only to feel lost when you crossed to the finish line?
I was at my cancer survivorship appointment with my reconstructive breast surgeon. He smiled and explained that: “You’re good now, Ryn! Go live your life and I’ll see you in six months.”
Everyone thinks the battle is over when you finish cancer treatment, but the real journey just begins at that point.
Everyone thinks the battle is over when you finish cancer treatment, but the real journey just begins at that point.
A wave of fear washed over me as I looked at him confused and asked a question neither of us could answer: “how?”
We stared blankly at each other.
It was in that moment I realized the world prepares you for the fight with cancer, but no one is there to help you when you feel lost after cancer. The Aftermath isn't just an endpoint; it's a disorienting new landscape for your identity and your life.
For me, that feeling wasn’t just mental and emotional; it was also physical.
I’ll never forget when the nurse came to my room in the hospital on the third morning post-double mastectomy. She had a walker and I was confused. “I think you have the wrong room” I said. She smiled and assured me she was there to see me so that we could go for a walk and I could go home.
When I tried to sit up, I couldn’t. I had no strength and then, the panic kicked in.
As I slid off the bed and my feet hit the floor, I would have collapsed had the walker not been there to catch me. My legs weren’t responding. I remember the cold panic and racing thoughts. They hadn’t operated on my legs so why weren’t they working? I had to command my body: “left foot forward, right foot forward!” like a drill sergeant in my head just to make it down the hall and back.
This was my first real lesson in the Aftermath of cancer: my body had been through trauma I couldn’t yet process and it had a story of its own to tell. The only way forward was for me to stop and listen.
Through these experiences, I really began learning what resilience was. It’s not solely about surviving the crisis, it’s about having the courage to continue taking one step forward even when you can’t see where you’re going and you feel completely alone.
The goal wasn’t getting back to my ‘before’ life as I had once thought; it was actually about learning how to become the next version of myself and rebuild a new life; one with more purpose, more gratitude and a deeper sense of what was truly important.
Your own ‘after’ story, whatever it may be, isn’t a void to be filled or feared. It’s an opportunity, a blank page, an invitation. That strength you’re looking for isn’t something you need to find because it’s what you’re already made of. It’s the resilience underneath the surface of your scars.
That strength you’re looking for isn’t something you need to find because it’s what you’re already made of.
Reclaiming your life isn’t about having all the answers, but about giving yourself permission to discover that strength and use it to create your next chapter, one brave step a time.
Meet the expert:
Ryn Sloane is a Certified Holistic Cancer Recovery Coach, a breast cancer survivor, and a warrior who's been through the fire and alchemized it. She’s here to give cancer survivors and stage 4 warriors the roadmap they deserve for what happens after the fight. She helps people face their fears head-on, reconnect with their bodies, and rediscover who they are, so they can stop feeling lost and finally feel like they've come home to themselves.
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