Online Counseling for Grief & Loss, Coping with a Medical Diagnosis & Caregiver Fatigue

Hi, I’m Amy. I think I might understand what you’re going through. Right before college, my mom got sick and I became her main caregiver.  Many years later, I went through health conditions myself, one of which took me a year to recover. The truth is, caretaking is hard, and so is being diagnosed with a medical condition that leaves you feeling out of control. Having been through that journey, I think I can help. 

Whether you’re someone who has lost a loved one, a caretaker or a patient trying to manage your illness, these are tough times. 

If you’re grieving

It is hard to say goodbye. The average employer gives us five days of bereavement leave and that’s never enough time to truly honor the one you love. You’re needing space to process your relationship with this person, the wide range of emotions around the loss, perhaps including survivor’s guilt or relief from caregiving. Every aspect of life reminds you of your loved one. You might be dealing with feelings of anger, sadness and loneliness as you consider life without this person. 

If you’re having trouble moving on, I want to help you process your grief, develop rituals to remember your loved one and give yourself permission to keep going. 

If you’re diagnosed with a medical condition 

You were a healthy, able body until one day, you received a medical diagnosis that calls into question your mortality and reason for living. Things were fine before this, for the most part, but it’s hard to consider what life would look like with this condition. You go through treatment and your body feels battered. You might be upset with yourself for not getting better, sooner. Say you recover but life really hasn’t been the same. Though from the outside, people can’t tell the difference and that makes you feel lonelier than ever. 

As someone who has gone through my own medical issues and have walked in the shoes of countless others, I can relate. I want to help you better manage your illness, regain some sense of control over your life and re-evaluate what makes life meaningful.

If you’re caretaking

You might not have it any other way but it’s still hard putting on hold some of your hopes and dreams to care for your loved one. They might struggle with their basic level of functioning that we often take for granted. This is not the strong, capable person you once knew and your relationship with them is not the same. They might get better; they might not. Sometimes, you might even feel guilty when you have some respite from caring for them. Let’s admit it, you’re on your way to becoming burnt out if you’re not already there.

If this is you, I see you. I’ve been in a similar situation. I want to help you take care of yourself and be in touch with what keeps you going while you care for your VIP. 

Why I can help

Having spent over eight years providing counseling and volunteering in oncology, hospice and hospital settings, I am very aware of the physical, emotional and financial toll cancer and other life-threatening illnesses have on patients and their families. While some people may experience burnout from this work, I find this work incredibly rewarding. It is a privilege to come alongside brave souls who are living their values, even when it’s hard, especially when it’s hard.

Various appointments available

I offer daytime and a late afternoon appointments to accommodate flexible work schedules and busy lifestyles. 

Here are my hours:

Tuesdays - 9:30am to 4pm
Wednesdays - 9:30am to 4pm
Thursdays - 12 to 6:30pm
Fridays - 9:30am to 4pm

Life is hard enough as it is. 

I’m not accepting new clients at this time. I hope our other counselors can help you!

Cancer Support & Counseling Online

Hi, I'm Ada. I get it. I was diagnosed with stage zero breast cancer in Nov 2015 and went through lumpectomy and radiation. While my cancer experience is not your experience, I do know what it's like to go through cancer and in some ways, continue to go through it.

Yes it's true. Cancer sucks! Until we can find ways to eradicate the darn thing, we'll know someone in our lifetime, if not ourselves, who will be affected by cancer. The thing is, just because cancer will affect us does not mean we give into it. Life with and after cancer is possible!

Is this your story?

Your first test came back “suspicious” and further testing confirmed your worse fears. Cancer is a game changer. The waiting between tests are long. The tests themselves painful or uncomfortable at the least. Every week there's an appointment, or two. You meet with so many specialists you have a hard time tracking.

At these appointments, you feel like you're drinking from a firehose. You simply don't have the physical or emotional bandwidth to keep everything straight. You feel confused, sad, angry, and exhausted. It's hard to fall asleep, and when you finally do, you wake up, wondering if this is all a bad dream.

Treatment is inevitable. You're in pain, you’re tired and you don’t recognize your body. You're just trying to survive. Family and friends support you in the ways they know how. Helpful or not, you feel very alone and closed off from the rest of the world.

You're done with cancer treatment, shouldn't you be feeling better?

Fast forward. You're done with treatment and you're no longer a “regular” at the clinic. People congratulate you, assume you're feeling better, but that can't be further from the truth. You look "normal" on the outside, but you don't feel so "normal". In the back of your mind, you try not to think about if and when the cancer might come back...

If these experiences remotely (or closely) describe you, I want to help! 

Life with and after cancer

What if you can learn to integrate cancer into your life story and put it in the passenger seat, would you want that?! While you do think about cancer, it doesn't ruin your day; while it has changed you, it doesn't dictate you. If anything, your meaning for life deepens and you decide how you really want to live. You are focused and empowered and you feel ready to tell your story. 

Now would you want to go through diagnosis and treatment all over again?! Some people say yes, but you don't have to agree with them. Regardless, you can make space for your fears because you really don't know if cancer will return or where it's going to take you. All you know is that each day matters and you want to make the most out of it. 

If you want to live a life that counts, let me help you get there! Or, if your partner, parent, child, close family or friend is affected by cancer, you can find support here as well.

It is possible to live meaningfully in the face of cancer.