Mental Healthcare For Cancer Survivors
- About 1 in 5 American adults reports suffering from some sort of mental health issue in any given year, so it’s not surprising that people facing something as stressful as a cancer diagnosis often face mental health challenges as well.
- Cancer can come with a range of emotions — anger, fear, sadness. There is no shame in seeking the help of a mental health professional and, if needed, getting on medication. Your oncologist may even be able to recommend a great fit.
- There are resources — like support groups and integrative medicine approaches — that cater specifically to people with cancer and can be a great resource for people looking for a different type of support.
Mental health experts and oncologists tell us that caring for mental health — though it may get less attention — is a critical part of cancer treatment as well.
Read MoreConsider Integrative Treatments
Integrative medicine is an approach that blends traditional therapies with other healing tactics, such as meditation, diet, nutrition, acupuncture, and more. There is an important distinction between “integrative” medicine and “alternative” medicine, which are therapies that are used in place of traditional care. When it comes to stress management, integrative treatments can be extremely helpful. According to the Mayo Clinic, some examples of integrative medicine for stress management include:- Acupuncture
- Massage therapy
- Meditation/mindfulness
- Resilience training
- Yoga
Managing Mental Health & Cancer Care
Seek Out Traditional Therapy
There should be absolutely no shame in seeking the help of a therapist, support group, or whatever other avenue you may want to pursue when dealing with stress.
Traditional therapy is a huge help (even a life-saver) for many people and if you are coping with a very stressful situation or simply feeling down, it may be wise to give this method a try.
In a previous conversation with SurvivorNet, Camila Legaspi, who lost her mother to cancer when she was just a high school student, explained how therapy helped her cope with intense feelings of grief.
“Therapy saved my life,” she said. “I was dealing with some really intense anxiety and depression at that point. It just changed my life because I was so drained by all the negativity that was going on. Going to a therapist helped me realize that there was still so much out there for me, that I still had my family, that I still had my siblings.”
Lean On Support Groups
Support groups aren’t for everyone — but spending some time talking to people who have been through similar struggles can make a big difference for people dealing with health challenges. These days, many support groups meet virtually, so these helpful connections can be made from the comfort of your own home.
In a previous conversation with SurvivorNet, ovarian cancer survivor Annie Ellis explained that she was completely overwhelmed trying to digest all of the medical information she was getting after her diagnosis.
She said that connecting with other women who had ovarian cancer played a big part in helping her cope.
“People who are living with cancer have more options than ever before,” she said. “But we don’t always know which person should get which treatment. What was helpful to me, to deal with the anxiety, was to connect with the survivor community.”
Annie Ellis explains why reaching out to other survivors felt so comforting.
Find A Creative Outlet
Creating something from nothing can be cathartic for many people — this could be visual art, digital art, music, writing, or any other creative expression of the self. So many people struggling with stress find interesting ways to work through complicated feelings with creation.
Three-time cancer survivor Marianne Duquette Cuozzo is an example. In a previous conversation with SurvivorNet, she explained that she worked out her anger through art after her first cancer diagnosis, and then again when dealing with complex feelings of loss after she had to undergo breast cancer surgery.
“When I was first diagnosed when I was 28, I had a little studio at my house, and I’d go in the studio, and I had these huge pieces of charcoal and I would do these really angry charcoal drawings, and I’d roll them up and stuff them under the couch,” she explained. “No one was meant to see them because it was just for me and my cathartic getting out my anger. And then recently, with having the breast cancer, it became a body image … My artwork is very reflective of my cancer journey.”
Marianne Duquette Cuozzo shares how art helped her through dark times.
Try A Simple Meditation Practice
Many people going through physical or mental struggles have found solace in meditation and mindfulness, but getting into a meditation practice that’s helpful can be intimidating — and a struggle on its own.
In a previous conversation with SurvivorNet, mediation expert and author Mallika Chopra explained that meditation can start with simple breathing exercises. “It really begins with just taking a deep breath in to the count of four, pausing, and breathing out,” Chopra said. “What that does is it helps us transition our bodies from the fight-or-flight response that we have that stimulates all types of stress hormones to having a more reactive and mindful response to any situation.”
Being mindful means to be aware of your body, your thoughts and what is going on around you, Chopra explained. Taking a few moments to breathe deeply and focus on mindfulness can have a really profound effect on overall mood.
Chopra also suggested people do a body scan, which means taking a moment of quiet thought to breathe and check in with the various parts of your body.
For some guidance, the below video features Dr. Brian Berman, director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at University of Maryland, guiding the audience through a simple meditation meant to evoke the relaxation response.
Dr. Brian Berman guides us through a simple meditation technique.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
ANSWER QUESTIONS
