Coping Emotionally With A Cancer Diagnosis

Receiving a cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming for patients and their loved ones. Learning how to cope with a diagnosis and having good mental health is critical for cancer patients.

Kayla Epplin, a licensed clinical social worker certified in oncology social work at Franciscan Health, shares some important skills to help work through the emotions and anxiety that a cancer diagnosis can cause. She also shares resources available to help patients on their cancer journey.

How Can Cancer Impact Emotional Health?

"It's true that cancer is a physical disease process, but that disease process does not just affect our body," Epplin said. "We all have what we call the mind-body connection. And this means that we don't operate purely from a physical or emotional standpoint."

Epplin explained that when your body is under a lot of stress, such as with a cancer diagnosis, that stress can impact you psychologically and emotionally and vice versa.

"The phrase 'worrying yourself sick' has some truth to it," Epplin said. "If you think about a particularly stressful time that you've experienced, you've probably also dealt with tension in your body, an upset stomach or headaches. So when we consider the impact of a cancer diagnosis, it certainly extends beyond physical and into our emotional health. And with cancer comes so much uncertainty, which most of us don't feel particularly comfortable with. This can cause a big disruption to our emotional health."

What Are Some Of The Most Common Emotional Responses To Cancer?

It's expected for you and your loved ones to experience a range of emotions following a cancer diagnosis.

"I'll see anger, confusion, fear and anxiety a lot," Epplin said. "Still, I want to preface this by saying that there's no one right way to respond to a cancer diagnosis. It's okay to experience whatever emotions come up, as long as we are making an effort to not let those emotions keep us paralyzed or stuck in that space."

Epplin explained that anger can be an emotion that appears when a person feels like their condition was something that should have been in their control.

"Maybe they lived the most perfect, healthy life and they still got cancer," Epplin said.

She also explained that control is another common theme she sees in her patients.

"People feeling a lack of control and that helplessness that goes along with it like sadness, depression, loneliness and shock," Epplin said. "Some even describe an out-of-body experience as if this was happening to someone else and they're watching it from the outside."

Epplin explained that grief is a significant emotional response to cancer.

"We often think of grief as an emotion that's experienced when we lose a loved one, but grief can happen with any perceived loss," Epplin said. "And that includes the loss of what life might've been like before cancer."

How Can Poor Emotional Health Impact Your Cancer Treatment?

"Stress can weaken the immune system," Epplin said. "Unfortunately, when someone's already dealing with something like a cancer diagnosis, their immune system is already weakened. So the emotional stress on top of that can lead to patients becoming even sicker."

Epplin explained that chronic emotional stress can lead to difficulty recovering from treatments and procedures.

How Can People Cope With Their Cancer Diagnosis?

Coping with a cancer diagnosis can build confidence in your care, free your mind to make sound decisions and prevent your stress levels from further impacting your health.

"Mindfulness is kind of a hot topic right now, which is great, because it's applicable in so many situations," Epplin said. "It's actually one of my favorite techniques to teach those that are impacted by cancer."

Epplin explained that mindfulness helps people remain in their present situation with awareness and acceptance.

Epplin shared a few ways people can practice mindfulness that benefit emotional health, including:

• Guided meditation
• Deep breathing
• Taking a walk
• Sitting and observing nature
• Engaging with hobbies

"Almost anything and everything can be done with mindfulness as long as you are allowing yourself to really be engaged in that present moment," Epplin said.

How Can I Talk With My Loved Ones About My Cancer Diagnosis?

It can take as much effort to communicate with loved ones about your emotional state as it did to reach your own acceptance.

"Communicating with loved ones can bring challenges, because a lot of times patients feel like no one really truly gets it unless they have had that cancer diagnosis too," Epplin said. "It's important to realize that loved ones and caregivers also experience emotional impact from their loved one's diagnosis. Communicating our emotions with each other can help us to feel more connected during a critical time."

Remember that your loved ones care about you and would like to do what they can to assist, even if there are times when they don't completely understand your emotions or your condition. Communication is essential throughout moments like this.

"We all have different needs and what works for some of us may not work for others," Epplin said. "Being upfront and honest about how you feel and what you need is always best. People are often struggling with these emotions and just need someone to listen and validate how they're feeling."

Epplin explained that if you feel like you have someone to vent to and validate your feelings, share that conversation with your loved ones before talking about anything else.

What Resources Can Help People Cope Emotionally With Cancer?

For some, it can take additional support to cope with a cancer diagnosis and its process towards recovery. Thankfully, there are resources dedicated to getting those in need on the right track.

"There are many great non-profit organizations around the globe with the purpose of assisting those impacted by cancer," Epplin said. "Here in Indiana, Cancer Support Community Indiana is a great resource to utilize to receive free services. And we partner with Franciscan Health and offer some of these services even on site at some of our Franciscan locations."

Epplin explained that the Cancer Support Community can provide individual counseling, support groups and other programs to support mental and emotional wellbeing throughout and beyond a cancer diagnosis.

"I always recommend that patients have a discussion with their social worker or their nurse navigator to see what resources could be most beneficial to them," Epplin said. "They tend to have a great list of resources specific to whatever type of cancer it is that the patient's dealing with."

Cancer program examples that social workers and nurse navigators may provide include:

• Therapy
• Counseling
• Support groups
• Peer support groups
• Yoga classes
• Guided meditation programs
• Moving Beyond program

Can Therapy Play A Role In Coping With Cancer?

"Therapy or counseling is a place where you can go and meet with a trained professional that has knowledge in helping people navigate difficult life events and emotions," Epplin said. "Therapy can helpful because mental health professionals are a third party and they can really see things from an objective point of view."

Epplin explained how those facing a cancer diagnosis care benefit from a therapist being an unconditional supporter who provides coping strategies and maintains privacy in their profession.

She shared some signs that indicate someone could benefit from therapy, including:

• Ineffective self-coping strategies
• Difficulty functioning in public spaces
• Significant changes in behavior
• Significant changes to sleeping patterns
• Sudden emotional outbursts
• Difficulty managing emotions
• Feelings of hopelessness

"Still, you do not have to be mentally ill or severely depressed to benefit from therapy," Epplin said. "Therapy can be for anyone at any given time in their life, as long as you're open to growing and to receiving that support."