Recovering from cancer treatment isn't just about your body — it's also about healing your mind. Take time to acknowledge the fear, grief and loneliness you're feeling right now. Then take steps to understand why you feel these emotions and what you can do about them.
Full Answer
Is grief part of the cancer experience?
When we step back and look at the cancer experience we see that grief and loss are a fundamental part it. Some of our losses are tangible, for example losing our hair, and some are more intangible, such as the loss of trust in our bodies. Coping with the losses associated with cancer is challenging. Grief brings many emotions with it.
What can I do if I need help with grief?
A great first step is to contact the National Helpline (1-800-662-4357) which will then connect callers to local services. For those experiencing grief, however, there are small steps that can be taken to help cope and process the feeling.
How do cancer patients cope with the losses associated with cancer?
Coping with the losses associated with cancer is challenging. Grief brings many emotions with it. Patients as well as caregivers and family members may go through emotions of anger, denial, and sadness.
How do people grieve the death of a loved one?
How people grieve depends on the personality of the grieving individual and his or her relationship with the person who died. The following factors affect how a person will express grief externally and adjust to the loss internally: [ 2] The cancer experience. Manner of disease progression.
How do cancer patients deal with grief?
The Cancer Grieving ProcessAccept the reality of the loss. Allow yourself space to experience the emotions and pain of grief.Adjust to a world without the thing that you lost.Form a connection to the thing you lost without having it stop you from living your life.
How do you move on after cancer treatment?
Facing Forward: How to Move On After Cancer TreatmentMeasure Your Mental Health. You've spent the last several months or years caring for your body to the point of exhaustion. ... Focus on Daily Self-Care. ... Work on Rebuilding Self-Confidence. ... Let Yourself Experience Loss, Pain, and Joy.
How do I get my life back on track after cancer?
Fear of recurrence in cancer survivorsTake care of your body. Focus on keeping yourself healthy. ... Go to all of your follow-up appointments. You may fear the worst when it's time for your next follow-up appointment. ... Get all of your follow-up tests. ... Be open about your fears. ... Keep busy.
How you cope up with your grief or loss?
How to deal with the grieving processAcknowledge your pain.Accept that grief can trigger many different and unexpected emotions.Understand that your grieving process will be unique to you.Seek out face-to-face support from people who care about you.Support yourself emotionally by taking care of yourself physically.More items...
Does life go back to normal after cancer?
When treatment ends, you may expect that life will soon return to normal. Or you may see the diagnosis as an opportunity to make changes to your life. Over time, cancer survivors often find a new way of living. This process is commonly called finding a new normal and it may take months or years.
When are you considered a cancer survivor?
One who remains alive and continues to function during and after overcoming a serious hardship or life-threatening disease. In cancer, a person is considered to be a survivor from the time of diagnosis until the end of life.
Which cancers are most likely to recur?
Related ArticlesCancer TypeRecurrence RateMelanoma2115% to 41%, depending on stage 87%, metastatic diseaseNSCLC22,2326% after curative surgery 27% after chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced diseaseOsteosarcoma1211%-12% local recurrence 5%-45% metastasisOvarian385%15 more rows•Nov 30, 2018
Are you ever the same after cancer?
People may often believe that cancer is over when a patient enters remission, however many of the difficulties that survivors may experience have only just begun. From long-term physical side effects to emotional distress and difficulty socializing, cancer survivors may experience a wide range of tribulations.
What are the emotional stages of cancer?
The Five Stages of Dealing with a Cancer DiagnosisState 1: Denial. ... Stage 2: Anger. ... Stage 3: Bargaining. ... Stage 4: Sadness and depression. ... Stage 5: Acceptance.
What are 6 positive ways of dealing with grief?
Here are six ways to cope with grief.#1 Surround Yourself with People Who Care. ... #2 Take Good Care of Yourself. ... #3 Let Others Help You. ... #4 Postpone Major Decisions, Whenever Possible. ... #5 Consider Grief Counseling. ... #6 Take Charge of Your New Life.
How do I accept the death of myself?
5 Strategies for Accepting Your MortalityTake care of mortality's paperwork. ... Use mindfulness to get comfortable with mortality. ... Discuss death at the dinner table. ... Consider your vision of a good death. ... Make a plan to go out in style.
What are the 7 stages of grief after a death?
The 7 stages of griefShock. Feelings of shock are unavoidable in nearly every situation, even if we feel we have had time to prepare for the loss of a loved one. ... Denial. ... Anger. ... Bargaining. ... Depression. ... Acceptance and hope. ... Processing grief.
How to cope with grief?
Looking back through your journal may allow you to see how your grief changes over time. Engage in physical activity . Some people find that being physically active helps them cope with their feelings.
How to grieve a loss?
Allow yourself to experience the pain of loss. As much as it hurts, it is natural and healthy to grieve. Sometimes people feel guilty about the way they feel, thinking they should “get over it.”. Let yourself grieve and fully experience your feelings, such as shock, sadness, anger, and loneliness. Don't judge yourself for any feelings you have, ...
How to forgive yourself for regrets?
Also forgive yourself for the things you regret not doing or saying. Processing the pain that comes with regrets and unfulfilled wishes can help you to focus more on the good memories.
Why is grief therapy important?
Grief therapy may be helpful for people experiencing very intense grief that lasts a long time and prevents them from participating in daily life. It can help a person understand why he or she is having a difficult time and explore helpful ways to cope with the loss.
How to talk about your loss?
Talk with others. Talking about your loss and sadness with others may help you process and release your feelings. Let family and friends know that it can be helpful for you to share your feelings with them. Reassure them that you don’t expect them to have answers; you just hope that they can listen.
How to cope with loss of a loved one?
Grieving is both emotionally and physically exhausting. Care for yourself by trying to get enough sleep at night, eating a healthy diet, and exercising.
What do you do after a loss?
After a loss, people often receive support from family and friends. Sometimes people do not have this support or they need a professional to help them learn more about the grieving process and cope with their loss. If you feel that you need more help coping with your grief, you may want to talk with a counselor.
What to do when you are grieving?
If your grief is overwhelming or lasting for a prolonged time, seek out a mental health professional with experience in grief counselling. They can help you work through your feelings and overcome obstacles to your grieving. Grief can be a roller coaster full of ups and downs, highs and lows.
When grief doesn't go away?
When Grief Doesn’t Go Away. We all cope with grief in our own way and most of us reach resolution and acceptance in time. It’s normal to feel sadness, depression and grief following a loss, but as time passes, these emotions should become less intense.
What are the emotions of cancer?
Grief brings many emotions with it. Patients as well as caregivers and family members may go through emotions of anger, denial, and sadness.
How many stages of grief are there?
Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross introduced what became known as the ‘five stages of grief’ as a way of looking at grieving process, but quite often these stages don’t follow a sequential order. In reality grief can be much more disordered. Some people start to feel better in weeks or months.
How to check in with your feelings?
It is helpful to get into the habit of checking in with your feelings. Take a moment to stop and be still. Breathe deeply. Now ask yourself what you are truly feeling. Grief? Guilt? Sadness? Anger? Whatever arises, see if you can just be with the feeling and feel it fully without judging your thoughts or emotions. Is there a physical discomfort associated with this feeling? For example, when you’re anxious or afraid, you may notice a tightness in your chest. Can you soften and relax those areas of tension in your body? You may find the intensity of your feeling lessens as you do this exercise. If the emotion deepens or adds to your distress, discontinue the exercise and try again later.
How to get over feeling stuck with your emotions?
If you feel stuck when sitting with your emotions, try journaling about the experience. For some people, it’s easier to write thoughts and feelings down on paper than to say them out loud. Keeping a journal to write down your thoughts is a way to come to terms with your feelings of grief. Many cancer patients choose to write about their feelings in ...
Is grief a physical or emotional process?
Grief is as much a physical as an emotional process – (we often refer to grieving as ‘grief work’) – so it’s important that we get a good night’s sleep, take some exercise and eat healthy meals to regain our physical strength and heal fully.
What are the normal reactions to grief?
[ 18] Normal grief usually includes some common emotional reactions that include emotional numbness, shock, disbelief, and/or denial often occurring immediately after the death, particularly if the death is unexpected. Much emotional distress is focused on the anxiety of separation from the loved one, which often results in yearning, searching, preoccupation with the loved one, and frequent intrusive images of death. [ 2]
What is the process of grieving?
Grief is defined as the primarily emotional/affective process of reacting to the loss of a loved one through death. [ 1] The focus is on the internal, intrapsychic process of the individual. Normal or common grief reactions may include components such as the following: [ 2]
What is anticipatory grief?
Anticipatory grief refers to a grief reaction that occurs in anticipation of an impending loss. [ 8] Anticipatory grief is becoming increasingly recognized as an issue that can heighten distress for both patients and their social networks. The term anticipatory grief is most often used when discussing the families of dying persons, although dying individuals themselves can experience anticipatory grief. Anticipatory grief includes many of the same symptoms of grief after a loss. Anticipatory grief has been defined as “the total set of cognitive, affective, cultural, and social reactions to expected death felt by the patient and family.” [ 9]
Why is anticipatory grief not present?
Anticipatory grief cannot be assumed to be present merely because a warning of life-threatening illness has been given or because sufficient time has elapsed from the onset of illness until death. Approximately 25% of patients with incurable cancer experience anticipatory grief.
What happens when death acceptance rates are higher?
When death acceptance rates are higher, there is decreased anxiety, depression, and anticipatory grief. [ 17 ] . Therefore, assessment for risk and treatment, as needed, using psychotherapy to address death acceptance may be useful to patients and their social networks.
Why do younger people have more difficulties after a loss?
However, it is also thought that younger bereaved persons may experience more difficulties during the initial period after the loss but may recover more quickly because they have more access to various types of resources (e.g., social support) than do older bereaved persons. [ 2]
How does cancer progress to death?
Most people will experience common or normal grief and will, with time, adjust to the loss; others will experience more severe grief reactions such as prolonged or complicated grief and will benefit from treatment.
Overview
Health care providers will encounter bereaved individuals throughout their personal and professional lives. [ 1] Individual diversity, family and social networks, and micro- and macrocultural influences contribute to the way one experiences and expresses grief.
Definitions of Terms
Grief is defined as the primarily emotional/affective process of reacting to the loss of a loved one through death. [ 1] The focus is on the internal, intrapsychic process of the individual. Normal or common grief reactions may include components such as the following: [ 2]
Types of Grief Reactions
Researchers and clinicians have proposed models for grief and types of grief reactions. [ 1, 2] Research has focused on normal and complicated grief while specifying types of complicated grief [ 3] and available empirical support, [ 4] with a focus on the characteristics of different types of dysfunction.
Risk Factors for Complicated Grief and Other Negative Bereavement Outcomes
One study [ 1] of 248 caregivers of terminally ill cancer patients investigated the presence of predeath complicated grief and its correlates. Results revealed the following variables associated with higher levels of predeath complicated grief:
Grief Experiences in Medical Providers
Relatively few studies examining grief focus specifically on oncology professionals. Twenty Canadian oncologists were interviewed at different stages in their careers in an empirical study of the impact of grief.
Treatment
The following information concerns treatment of grief after the death of a loved one, not necessarily death as a result of cancer.
Children and Grief
At one time, children were considered miniature adults, and their behaviors were expected to be modeled as such. [ 1] Today there is a greater awareness of developmental differences between childhood and other developmental stages in the human life cycle.
How to deal with fear of cancer?
Cope with your fear by being honest with yourself about your feelings. Try not to feel guilty about your feelings or ignore them in hopes that they'll go away. Ask your doctor about what you can do to reduce your chance of a cancer recurrence. Once you've done all you can to reduce that risk, acknowledge your fears.
How to get over cancer?
Go easy at first, but try to increase the intensity and amount of exercise you get as you recover. Get enough sleep so that you wake feeling refreshed. These actions may help your body recover from cancer treatment and also help put your mind at ease by giving you a greater sense of control over your life.
Why do cancer survivors feel self conscious?
Self-consciousness in cancer survivors. If surgery or other treatment changed your appearance, you might feel self-conscious about your body. Changes in skin color, weight gain or loss, the loss of a limb, or the placement of an ostomy might make you feel like you'd rather stay home, away from other people.
How to cope with fear?
You can learn new ways of coping with fears. You can also offer your own expertise to other patients who are going through active treatment and help them in their journey. Devise your own plan for coping with your emotions. Have an open mind and try different strategies to find out what works best for you.
How to deal with cancer side effects?
Many cancer treatments can cause side effects years later. Be open about your fears. Express your concerns to your friends, family, other cancer survivors, and your doctor or a counselor. If you're uncomfortable with the idea of discussing your fears, try recording your thoughts in a journal. Keep busy.
What happens when you are diagnosed with cancer?
When you were diagnosed with cancer, you might have focused completely on your treatment and getting healthy. Now that you've completed treatment, all those projects around the house and the things on your to-do list are competing for your attention. This can make you feel stressed and overwhelmed.
Can cancer recurrence fade?
Most cancer survivors report that the fear of recurrence fades with time. But certain events can trigger your fears. The feelings might be especially strong before follow-up visits to your doctor or the anniversary of your cancer diagnosis.
How to deal with grief?
Surround yourself with supportive people. Find friends or family members who accept your grief. Many people feel as if they must hide their sadness around others, and that can disrupt the healing process. This can lead to isolation and increased sadness.
How to stay on track when grieving?
It is common to experience forgetfulness when grieving. Making a list of goals or activities that need to be done will help you stay on track.
How to feel anger?
If you want to cry, cry. If you want to feel anger, allow yourself to do so. Express your grief and learn about it. Acknowledging your feelings will help you move forward.
How to be a better person?
Don’t overbook your schedule or make too many commitments. Allow yourself extra time to rest and process all that is happening. Have a little fun. Though it is important to pace yourself, allow yourself the opportunity to do things you love.
What to do if you are concerned about depression?
However, even if you are not concerned about depression, speaking to your doctor can help you find ways to cope. If you are looking for a great way to remember your loved one, please consider supporting lifesaving cancer research in their name.
Does grief dissipate with time?
Grief can also develop into complicated grief, which, unlike uncomplicated grief, does not seem to dissipate with time and can look a lot like depression. Depression, however, introduces feelings of guilt and unworthiness not related to the loss.
Is there a timeframe for someone to accept their loss?
There is no specific timeframe in place for someone to accept their loss and move on from grieving. Don’t judge yourself harshly for ‘not doing better’ or ‘taking too long’ along the way.