Mental Health and Breast Cancer
- Leah Wypych has survived both an eating disorder and a breast cancer battle. Now, she’s helping others struggling with eating disorders find the help they need.
- Breast cancer is a common cancer that has been the subject of much research, so there are many treatment options out there. Mammogram are a standard screening procedure for breast cancer, and self breast exams can save lives.
- The American Cancer Society (ACS) says women should begin yearly mammogram screening for breast cancer at age 45 if they are at average risk for breast cancer but earlier if they are at a higher risk. The ACS also says those aged 40-44 have the option to start screening with a mammogram every year, and women age 55 and older can switch to a mammogram every other year, or they can choose to continue yearly mammograms.
- Mental health is a crucial aspect of overall wellbeing, and you should always seek help when you need it whether it be during a cancer journey or not.
- One of our experts says a cancer diagnosis can come with grief. He recommends talk therapy to help people cope with the change that a cancer diagnosis brings to a person's life.
Wypych was diagnosed with stage 3B breast cancer at 32 years old.
Read More“You're bombarded with doctors’ appointments, and people looking at you with sadness when you have no hair, and being at the Alliance I felt normal… And so really focusing on a lot of the body image pieces of eating disorders helped me through my cancer journey, because my body would change. And it still changes.”
Wypych also said allowing herself to feel the negative emotions she had during her cancer journey and feeling so much support from the people around her helped her through.
“Crying in the shower is the best place to have the ugly cry because it echos and it feels big so you can let it out,” Wypych said. “So, I would do that and also just knowing that I had so many people supporting me that I couldn't let them down.”
Thankfully, after a double mastectomy, endless trips to the doctor, chemotherapy, radiation appointments and follow-up surgeries, Wypych was cancer-free.
And now she’s looking back on her experience as a breast cancer and eating disorder survivor to make a difference.
She currently serves on the Board of Directors at the National Alliance for Eating Disorders.
“My journey as both a breast cancer survivor and as someone in recovery from my eating disorder inspired me to become active in the eating disorder community and with The Alliance,” she wrote in an article for the Alliance. “Just like my family understood my cancer diagnosis and supported me through my recovery, I wanted the same support system during my eating disorder recovery. I wanted that same compassion, care, love, and understanding. Through The Alliance, I and countless others have been given these gifts.”
Maintaining good mental health is an important part of surviving cancer. That’s why SurvivorNet offers helpful resources to help you stay healthy of mind, including films that will inspire you.
Understanding Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is a common cancer that has been the subject of much research. Many women develop breast cancer every year, but men can develop this cancer too though it is much more rare, in part, due to the simple fact that they have less breast tissue.
Signs and symptoms of breast cancer may include:
- A breast lump or thickening that feels different from the surrounding tissue
- Change in the size, shape or appearance of a breast
- Changes to the skin over the breast, such as dimpling
- A newly inverted nipple
- Peeling, scaling, crusting or flaking of the pigmented area of skin surrounding the nipple (areola) or breast skin
- Redness or pitting of the skin over your breast, like the skin of an orange
It's important to keep an eye out for these symptoms while remembering that having one or many of them does not necessarily mean you have breast cancer. Regardless, you should always speak with a doctor promptly if anything ever feels off or you're experiencing one or more of the signs listed above. You never know when speaking up about your health can lead to a very important diagnosis.
When Should I Get a Mammogram?
Screening for breast cancer is typically done via mammogram, which looks for lumps in the breast tissue and signs of cancer. The American Cancer Society (ACS) says women should begin yearly mammogram screening for breast cancer at age 45 if they are at average risk for breast cancer. The ACS also says those aged 40-44 have the option to start screening with a mammogram every year, and women age 55 and older can switch to a mammogram every other year, or they can choose to continue yearly mammograms.
It's also important to be on top of self breast exams. If you ever feel a lump in your breast, you should be vigilant and speak with your doctor right away. Voicing your concerns as soon as you have them can lead to earlier cancer detection which, in turn, can lead to better outcomes.
Risk Factors for Breast Cancer
There are many treatment options for people with this disease, but treatment depends greatly on the specifics of each case. Identifying these specifics means looking into whether the cancerous cells have certain receptors. These receptors the estrogen receptor, the progesterone receptor and the HER2 receptor can help identify the unique features of the cancer and help personalize treatment.
"These receptors, I like to imagine them like little hands on the outside of the cell, they can grab hold of what we call ligands, and these ligands are essentially the hormones that may be circulating in the bloodstream that can then be pulled into this cancer cell and used as a fertilizer, as growth support for the cells," Dr. Elizabeth Comen, a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, previously told SurvivorNet.
The Unique Features of Breast Cancer: Deciding the Right Course of Treatment
One example of a type of ligand that can stimulate a cancer cell is the hormone estrogen, hence why an estrogen receptor positive breast cancer will grow when stimulated by estrogen. For these cases, your doctor may offer treatment that specifically targets the estrogen receptor. But for HER2 positive breast cancers, therapies that uniquely target the HER2 receptor may be the most beneficial.
Mental Health after a Cancer Diagnosis
Dealing with a mental health struggle looks different for everyone, especially when it comes to a cancer diagnosis. But feeling sad or anxious about the changes coming your way after hearing the "c" word for the first time is very normal and understandable. And just as it’s important to prioritize your physical health during a cancer journey, it’s also crucial to take care of your mental health.
Dealing with Grief after a Cancer Diagnosis
"Grief comes in waves," Dr. Scott Irwin, a psychiatrist and director of supportive care services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, told SurvivorNet in a previous interview. "They're grieving the change in their life. The future they had imagined is now different."
Dr. Irwin stressed how helpful talk therapy could be when dealing with the mixed emotions. It's important to reach out to your doctor, a therapist or support groups in your community if you feel like you're struggling.
Ni Guttenfelder can attest to the benefits of therapy. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in October 2017 and quickly decided she needed a therapist to help process her feelings. Her suggestion is to seek a counselor you're comfortable with one you trust and can open up to about your cancer diagnosis.
"Initially I went to a session where I just cried and the counselor basically told me what I was feeling was normal and didn't offer me any type of feedback. But I knew that I needed something more than that. Not just a crying session and a pat on my shoulder," she told SurvivorNet in a previous interview. "What I have found is that it's critical to find the right counselor, not just any counselor."
Once she found a counselor she truly trusted, Guttenfelder began to see some clarity.
"One of the things that my counselor has taught me from the very beginning that has helped me is the concept of acceptance," she says. "Acceptance is a process. It's like downloading a computer file in increments. Visualizing it in that way has really helped me."
Her therapist also taught her how to manage the people in her life. She decided to look into her relationship with her father, for example, because he was resistant to the idea of her receiving chemotherapy.
"It makes it more of an uphill battle and a challenge because we'll sometimes get into arguments about it," she says. "My counselor would say, for my own benefit and health that it's best to limit the time with others who may not be lifting me up during my treatment."
Mental Health: Understanding the Three Wellsprings of Vitality
She also had some helpful advice for other women dealing with ovarian cancer: "You are stronger and more resilient than you could ever imagine."
"I think there's a misconception that we beat cancer when we finish treatment," she said. "Unfortunately, that's not always the case for everyone. I want you to know that you beat cancer by how you live your life."
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