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How Cancer Affects Mental Health: Breaking the Silence
By Raveena M Prakash
Cancer is a deadly disease, and being diagnosed with cancer often affects your mental health. A cancer diagnosis brings many emotions to a patient and their family. This can be a worst nightmare and bad news, and it is often devastating to accept the results. For some people it might bring an outburst of emotion, while for others it might be more difficult to accept. Being diagnosed with cancer may trigger many mental health issues in a patient, such as anxiety, depression, and distress. Mental health support is crucial for a successful recovery from cancer.
In this article, we’ll discover more about mental health and cancer and how to take care of mental health during your cancer treatment and after the cancer treatment.
The emotional influence of cancer diagnosis
The initial diagnosis of cancer might feel very difficult to handle. People mostly experience an infinite amount of fear and sadness, and some people react with anger and frustration. All of these emotions are valid, but experiencing an extended period of anxiety and stress might negatively affect the treatment outcomes and its recovery. Additionally, an unbalanced emotional state can negatively impact the quality of life.
Mental health challenges during the treatment
Cancer patients planning to undergo treatments often face certain types of emotional and physical struggles.
These may include:
- Experiencing anxiety and depression about the future of treatments and life
- Facing fatigue, low energy level, and low self-esteem due to treatments
- Experiencing body image issues after surgeries or treatments like chemotherapy
- Feeling loneliness and social isolation during the hospital stays or recovery
Why mental support is crucial during cancer
Cancer diagnosis and its treatments often affect every aspect of a patient’s life, including how they feel, act, and react towards others. Mental health support can cause significant change to many relationships in a positive manner. If a patient lacks mental health support, it can damage many relationships on a personal and professional level and impact the overall quality of life. These issues in cancer patients can often interfere with the treatments and quality of life.
Here’s what mental support helps with:
- To overcome anxiety related to cancer treatments
- Helps to deal with physical and emotional signs of cancer
- Support the patient to cope with emotional changes such as mood swings.
- Helps patients to get over cancer treatment side effects and trauma.
- Helps to improve self-esteem and confidence to overcome treatments.
How to take care mental well being during the treatment
Healthcare providers play a major role in managing the emotional health of a cancer patient. Some ways healthcare providers can help patients.
These may include:
- Listening to patients issues without judgment
- Encourage patients to engage in social activities or support groups.
- Regularly monitoring the symptoms of anxiety, withdrawals, and long-term sadness in patients
- Taking care of patients mental well-being to provide better support
The rise of Depression and Anxiety
Anxiety and depression are the most common psychological conditions in cancer patients. These two issues can happen irrespective of the cancer, its stage, and its extent, and some cancer survivors also face these issues. The signs and symptoms of these can range from a normal, non-pathological state to having concerns, worry, a sense of uncertainty and sadness, and an increased level of hopelessness.
Many studies suggest that depression affects approximately one in four patients with cancer. These people are five times more likely to have depression when compared to other people. However, depression can be observed in any phase of illness, including long-term cancer survivors.
PTSD and Cancer: The overlooked link
Cancer diagnosis tests and treatments often create an increased stress level for both patients and their families and friends. PTSD and cancer are often overlooked because of some misconceptions, such as PTSD only occurring in health conditions such as acute, physical trauma, but now the PTSD diagnostic criteria have adjusted the definition to include the diagnosis and treatment of life-threatening diseases such as cancer, as a traumatic stressor can induce PTSD.
This change was made after some studies revealed that there are some cases of post-traumatic stress-like reactions observed in some cancer patients. Recent studies revealed that PTSD is more common in cancer survivors than in normal people.
Breaking the Silence: What needs to change
Being diagnosed with cancer is overwhelming, and facing its further tests, treatments, and surgeries might feel devastating to any normal person. While continuing the cancer treatment, it's important to understand the current mental state of the patient. An oncologist should also prepare a mental health nursing care plan for the patient. It's essential to consider psychological health care as important as cancer care but it's not optional.
Here’s what needs to change:
- Combine mental wellness with cancer care.
- Train oncologists to recognize emotional distress.
- Encourage open communication.
- Support healthcare givers.
- Make mental wellness treatments more accessible & affordable.
Consult Today
Improving cancer patients emotional resilience and overall quality of life after cancer is significant. It can be achieved by seeking expert guidance, building a support system, and adopting healthy lifestyle habits.
At Oncare Cancer Center, we believe no one should fight cancer and mental well-being battles alone. Our cancer specialists team is committed to not just treating cancer but helping patients to deal with emotional health issues by providing support to understand their problems and provide guidance to take proactive steps towards better health.
If you or any loved ones of yours are facing cancer treatments and concerned about mental well-being, then seek professional guidance and visit Oncare Cancer Center in Delhi for affordable, premium-quality treatments and a second opinion.
Visit Oncare’s website and book an appointment today. Get an estimated cost of your treatments today. Trust OnCare, because no one should fight cancer and mental well being battles alone.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes, normal and positive mental health plays a key role in improving the response to cancer treatment along with an overall quality of life. Managing stress and anxiety helps to boost the immunity system of patients and enhances overall treatment plans for a patient.
There are some common symptoms of emotional distress in cancer patients; they may include
- Feeling sad for a long period of time
- Anxiety
- Feeling irritated or irritation
- Difficulty in sleeping
- Loss of interest in social activities
- Feeling hopeless
Yes, cancer patients often feel anxious about the chance of recurrence of cancer even after surviving cancer.
A cancer diagnosis is a major life-changing event in a person’s life. It can profoundly affect a patient’s overall emotional well-being. Mental health support might help patients to cope with fear and anxiety during cancer treatments.
A cancer diagnosis majorly affects a patient’s physical and mental health. It can cause many mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and stress.