Help Working Through Grief After Cancer
- Actress Gwyneth Paltrow, 51, says she is still coping with grief after losing her father, Bruce Paltrow, 22 years after he passed from throat cancer. Coping with grief after a loved one’s cancer battle takes time, and Gwyneth expressed that’s what she’s still working through.
- Bruce’s throat (oropharyngeal) cancer may present symptoms like a lump in the neck or a sore throat. The National Cancer Institute says smoking or the human papillomavirus (HPV) are risk factors for this type of oral cancer.
- Grief is defined as the devastation that occurs when we lose someone. It often comes in five stages: grief, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These labels help us frame and identify what we may be feeling.
- If you approach them with compassion, kindness, and eventual acceptance, you will come away from this period with a renewed sense of resilience and purpose.
It’s been more than 20 years since actress Gwyneth Paltrow, 51, lost her dad, Bruce, to throat cancer, and her emotions still run strong to the present day. Paltrow says she’s still having a hard time coping with the grief from losing her multi-time Emmy-nominated famous father.
“I’m still having a very hard time 20 years later. It’s a lifelong process. It just takes time,” Paltrow said in an Instagram story post.
WATCH: HPV’s link to cancer.
The human papillomavirus, or HPV, is a group of more than 200 related viruses, some of which are spread through vaginal, anal, or oral sex, according to the National Cancer Institute. It can cause a handful of cancers, including cervical and throat cancers. HPV-related throat cancers are generally very responsive to a combination of radiation and chemotherapy treatments. The HPV vaccine, like Gardasil 9, offers protection against “nine HPV types” and creates an immune response to HPV 16, the primary cause of 92% of head and neck cancers.
Bruce Paltrow’s career in television and film earned him many accolades as a producer during the 1980s. He produced sitcoms like “St. Elsewhere,” “The White Shadow” and “Tattinger’s.”
This latest Instagram post was not the first time Gwyneth spoke openly about missing her dad. Last summer, she also shared an Instagram story with her 8 million followers.
“I miss my dad so much, and I miss his humor. I was just on a walk with a friend this morning, and even she was talking about the things that my dad used to say. His phrases. He was kind of a philosopher in his own way. And just had the most brilliant one-liners,” Paltrow said, as captured by People Magazine.
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Although it’s been decades since Bruce passed away, Gwyneth’s lingering emotions demonstrate everyone grieves differently.
Grief is defined as the devastation that occurs when we lose someone. Grieving comes in five stages, commonly referred to as the “five stages of grief.”
The stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These labels help us frame and identify what we may be feeling. These stages can occur in any order.
As you find yourself experiencing some of these stages, remember that the emotions you are feeling are meaningful but also temporary. If you approach them with compassion, kindness, and eventual acceptance, you will come away from this period with a renewed sense of resilience and purpose.
Butler took a few months to go through the stages of grief, but he found renewed purpose in his craft.
“Grief comes in waves,” says Dr. Scott Irwin, a psychiatrist and Director of Supportive Care Services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
“They’re grieving the change in their life; the future they had imagined is now different.”
Some days can be more challenging than others, but Dr. Irwin says talk therapy can be helpful. It’s important to reach out to your doctor, a therapist, or support groups in your community for the help you need.
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