For most people, a cancer diagnosis is a life-altering event. Reactions will vary based on the individual, but being told you have cancer will undoubtedly come with a touch of shock and even fear. Let’s look at some help for staying positive in cancer treatment.
Help for Staying Positive in Cancer Treatment
You may have heard some people argue that a positive outlook is key to long-term recovery, but the science doesn’t support that. What a positive outlook can do is help you to modulate your stress levels. It won’t always be possible to stay positive, but we do have some tips for the times when you want to be positive but just can’t.
Join a Support Group
Cancer treatment can be isolating. Everyone around you will be struggling to find ways to talk to you, and you may not have the patience to deal with your stress and their discomfort simultaneously.
Joining a support group or organizing sessions with a therapist can provide a forum where you can talk to people who understand what you’re going through. It isn’t for everyone, but it can be a positive break. Your breast cancer surgeon in Austin may have some suggestions for local groups.
Maintain Close Contact with Family and Friends
Your closest connections are going to be necessary allies throughout your treatment. Even if you have a dedicated partner, you are going to need additional helpers because neither you nor your partner is capable of doing this all alone without harming their own health.
In addition to providing aid, close friends and family can help to buffer the stress that comes with a cancer diagnosis. For the time being, your focus has to be on getting better, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need a break from thinking about cancer all of the time.
Take Time for Hobbies
In a similar vein, you should try to retain whatever hobbies you can. Obviously, there will be some limitations, especially as you undergo chemotherapy in Austin, but that doesn’t mean you should abandon everything that you did for fun.
Continuing hobbies or finding new ones can be a valuable distraction that helps to keep you positive in the most challenging times. If you’re looking into a new hobby, it can also expand your support system.
Don’t Focus on Things that Are Out of Your Hands
There is so much in life that you cannot control. Cancer is definitely one of those, so do not spend too much of your time focusing on the disease itself. Instead, pay attention to the areas where you can pursue meaningful action.
Some of these areas may be related to your cancer, but many others won’t be. The intent is that you have somewhere to focus your energy where you can actually perceive results.
Make Informed Decisions
Meaningful action sometimes includes educating yourself in regard to your condition and the treatments being used. By talking to your doctor, other experts in the field, and reading peer-reviewed materials you can learn to better understand the decisions you may have to make along the way.
Stay Present
When you have cancer, it can be easy to just let it envelop you entirely. Of course, there are people whom this doesn’t apply to. But for many others cancer can feel so overwhelming that other things cease to matter.
If only for a few moments, take time every day to reconnect with people and subjects that mattered to you before cancer. You can even have a designated friend who knows you want to talk about anything but cancer whenever you call.
Ask for Help
The best thing you can do to stay positive during cancer treatment is to not place the entire weight of your stress and fear on yourself and, if applicable, your partner. Try to balance it out by asking a number of people to help you with small tasks to avoid overburdening yourself and those closest to you.