The Emotions of Cancer
Cancer is an emotional condition. There can be many decisions to make. There can be devastating, anxiety provoking, and depressing treatments and complications. Treatment side effects can impact cognition, motivation, and emotions. When you’re diagnosed, all of this information comes at you. The doctors talk about what you have and what’s going to be done. It’s hard to take all of that in, even for someone with a lot of knowledge. Depending on what cancer you have, you can undergo a lot of procedures. Each one might not be particularly painful, but over the course of treatment, the pain adds up and becomes one more thing to dread each time you come for an appointment. You may feel like you’re losing your dignity as a person when dealing with such procedures. One thing that’s difficult about having cancer is that you feel that there’s a lot that’s out of your control.
If you’re enduring cancer treatment, remember this: If you worry about something in the future and it doesn’t happen, you’ve worried for nothing. If you worry about it and it does happen, you’ve experienced the pain twice. To try to focus on your present experience is very important.
If you need support while you deal with cancer, please call. I work help people who deal with cancer.