[chrisy]

Chelee, Great questions!
I've been blessed with a great support network and "get" different things from each type of support so it is difficult to say which is best. This is really long, because I continue to be awed by the depth of support I received.

Sources of support:
1. My family. My husband who loves me dearly and supports me best by doing just that, and making me laugh. My sister and niece, who live in Chicago (way too far away!). These people are my reason for living.
2. Friends who maintained a continuous flow of cards, well wishes, emails, and social contact during my treatment. Somehow when I was at my lowest, someone would out of the blue send me a note of encouragement.
3. Co-workers and business associates. From my staff to the President and Owner of the company, these people were INCREDIBLE! They set up "meal service" and transportation to/from treatments, prayed for me, allowed me to work from home when I needed to and rose the the challenge of keeping things going while I was functioning at (ever so slightly! LOL!) less than 100%. I feel I found true love in the workplace. I know that not everybody gets support from their workplace so I know how lucky I am.
4. The local "cancer support community". I met a lot of people when I had my initial diagnosis and was a "peer navigator" through a local womens cancer support center. When I found out the cancer had recurred, these people were the first I called, because I knew they understood.
5. Support groups - this Her2support group is the best online support group I found. The knowledge and information as well as "support" is incredible. I also went to some local support groups which were good in the sense that I could talk about things that were difficult to discuss with family/friends.

Best source of support:
Sounds a bit irreverent to say God, but since I view all of the above as little miracles... For info, this site. For practical support, my work associates. For love, my family.

Did anybody "disappear":
I expected this when I got the diagnosis of mets, because people just can't deal with that. This may yet happen in the future. I did not have anyone "leave", and in fact was surprised that some casual friends became closer friends. I did have some instances of people saying incredibly insensitive and stupid things! My favorite was "I was trying to put myself in your shoes and think of how I would feel. I always wanted to die first, too". I just chalk those up to people don't know what to say - and remind myself that they are coming from a place of love despite how it comes out!

Gotta go praise Him for all my blessings...

Thanks Chelee, for opening this topic.
Chris