On Returning to Become a Guide: Pam’s Story

On the eve of Firefly Sisterhood’s third birthday, we’ve reached yet another exciting milestone. We often hear from a recently diagnosed Sister how helpful and invaluable her connection with a Guide is in those first days, weeks, and months after a breast cancer diagnosis. We thought it was time to share with you just how poignant the role of a Guide can be in a woman’s survivorship experience. Eleven of our recently diagnosed Sisters who were matched in the past have returned to Firefly to be trained and embrace the role of being a Guide, and we’d like to share a couple of their stories with you, beginning with Pam.

Pam was not somebody who typically reaches out to others for help, preferring to stay fairly private and independent. So, when her surgeon pulled out the Firefly Sisterhood flyer to mention us as a resource, she tucked it away, confident she was in a good place to face her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. While surgery came with challenges, of course, it wasn’t until Pam completed this phase and began to look at the treatment that lay ahead that the emotions really hit her. She remembers thinking, “Oh my goodness, I have no idea what’s going to happen now!”

Pam took out that flyer and reached out to Firefly to be matched with a Guide, who soon visited Pam at her house. Her analogy is powerful: “What was in front of me was a mountain, and I had no idea how to climb it. And (my Guide) was on the other side. When I opened the door and saw her, I was just lifted up! She was healthy and she had a smile on her face. She showed me where the footholds of the mountain were.”

Pam’s Guide served as a lifeline of hope for her as Pam navigated survivorship beyond surgery and acute treatment, and a friendship developed. As time passed, along with the support of her Guide, Pam began to find her new normal and her energy came back. It was at this point that she knew she wanted to engage in a new role and return to Firefly for Guide training. Remembering the challenging emotions she experienced when the post-surgical experience loomed large, Pam says, “If I can at all help somebody else not be so overwhelmed by that mountain, I want to do it. It’s just a good feeling to be able to turn a horrible situation, the mountain, into something positive by helping other women.”

Being a Guide serves dual purposes for Pam. Not only is she providing support and hope to other women facing a breast cancer diagnosis, it’s making a powerful impact on her own healing and survivorship. “The whole experience of breast cancer was pretty awful,” she reflects, “but if I can help other women find footholds of that mountain, maybe it was worth it. What a cool thing.” Yes, a cool thing, indeed!

Stay tuned for Julie’s story in a coming blog, another of our participants who shares her reason for returning to Firefly Sisterhood to become a Guide.