This morning I attended a fascinating presentation entitled “Fierce Conversations”, after the book and organizational development course of that name created by Susan Scott. The gist of the presentation was that relationships develop through conversation, and that authenticity in conversation is crucial to moving relationships forward. Personal and organizational relationships which aren’t characterized by regular authentic conversations are likely to either fester with conflict, or wither and die.

This brought me to think about what authentic conversations aren’t taking place in the arena of cancer care. One scenario ripe for authentic conversation is when a patient is discharged from cancer treatment into survivorship. Time after time patients have told me how, when their treatment team disbands, they are left without adequate direction even though they are still low on energy, suffering from treatment side effects and wondering what they need to do so they never have to go through treatment again.

(If you or someone you love is one of those people, you may be interested in my upcoming teleclass, “Secrets of Spectacular Survivorship”, which launches June 6th. We’ll talk about what you really need to know in order to feel well after cancer treatment and reduce your risk of cancer recurrence. For full details visit www.secrets-of-survivorship.com )

What other fierce conversations need to take place around cancer survivorship? Please leave a comment below and tell me what conversations you wish someone had had with you during your cancer experience.