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The following article was published in Your Health Magazine. Our mission is to empower people to live healthier.
Kathi Whitten, LCSW
When Cancer Strikes
No. VA Psychotherapy Associates
. http://www.kathiwhitten.com/

When Cancer Strikes

A diagnosis of cancer is frightening to most of us. The very word can evoke anxiety about long and confusing treatment, personal adjustment and well-being and often financial worries.

If you're told you have cancer, how should you approach your situation? First of all, you need to assemble a medical team you trust. Most people also feel that obtaining as much reliable information as possible is helpful. Understanding your illness can be especially useful for being able to work with your treatment team in making critical medical decisions.

You need to turn to others for help during this time. For some people, this can be difficult particularly people who are customarily caretakers of others, or for those who don't feel comfortable asking for help for various other reasons. Usually friends and family want to help but don't always know how they can be useful, so perhaps don't offer to do those things that would be most appreciated.

This is not a time to be shy tell others exactly what you need to avoid confusion or hurt feelings. That could be helping with driving to appointments, child care, cooking and keeping the household going, running errands or even assisting with sorting out insurance forms.

Your needs may change during different stages of your treatment. At first, there is often shock, accompanied by the need to make rapid decisions. But as time goes by, many other feelings can emerge.

Fear, worry and concern for the future are common. You may be dealing with pain, fatigue and making plans and changes in your lifestyle to accommodate the treatment process.

Seeing a professional for help with feelings and interpersonal concerns during this time can be a very important part of the treatment process. A serious illness often evokes emotions that may be difficult to handle alone. Therapy can help with the feelings, with understanding the illness, and offer coping skills for handling pain and stress.

When dealing with any serious illness, individual therapy is usually accompanied by couple or family therapy. Family members often have their own questions, anxieties and issues of adjustment when someone they love is dealing with a life-altering illness.

It would be fair to say that no one has an illness of such magnitude “alone”. Others who care are always involved, and professional therapy can be helpful for the whole family as well as the patient.

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