Everyone copes with their cancer diagnosis and treatment differently.
Your cancer diagnosis might come as a shock. You may feel scared, sad, annoyed or you may be worried.
These feelings may get stronger:
- when you do not know what to expect
- if you have side effects from treatment
- if there is a possibility your cancer might return
Most of these feelings are normal, and pass or get easier to deal with as time goes on.
Give yourself time to come to terms with what has happened and what it means for you. Do not be hard on yourself.
Things you can do to help you cope
There are things you can do to help you cope. You may need to try a few things to find what works for you.
You could:
- talk to your specialist nurse
- keep in contact with your GP who can help and advise you
- ask your treatment team, GP or local cancer support centre about other supports or support services
- find out more about the type of cancer you have
- talk to your friends and family about how you feel
- avoid trying to take on too much
- make time for yourself
When to ask for psychological help
If you are finding it hard to cope with your feelings, it is important to ask for help.
You can ask your treatment team, GP or local cancer support centre about psychological supports.
Do this if difficult feelings become more intense over 4 weeks and you:
- have low mood with loss of interest that does not go away
- feel isolated or lonely
- are anxious or worry that your cancer will come back - this is common and there are lots of supports
- feel strong emotions often - such as anger, frustration, guilt, grief and uncertainty
- are worried about your body image
- are worried about loss of intimacy
If you are still in treatment your healthcare team will arrange for you to talk to a trained psychologist, psychotherapist or counsellor.