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When you get a cancer diagnosis, it can bring up a wide variety of emotions. You may feel sadness, grief, fear, anger, frustration, stress, and worry. These feelings can be overwhelming.
Some people with cancer develop feelings of depression or anxiety that are constant and severe. These mental health challenges can impact their daily life and the success of their cancer treatments. Medication and therapy can help people with cancer treat their cancer-related mental health concerns.
If you've been diagnosed with cancer and have a preexisting mental health condition, you may need additional mental health care along with cancer treatment. Your doctors can also talk to you about the pros and cons of continuing mental health medications during cancer treatment.
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Life with cancer can affect a person's mental health. Getting a cancer diagnosis can be sad, but it may also make you feel angry. You'll likely grieve the loss of your health and possibly feel afraid for what's to come. Appointments, treatments, health insurance, finances, and everything else that comes with a serious illness may make you frustrated, stressed, and worried.
As a result, you may develop feelings of depression or anxiety that are constant and severe. These cancer-related mental health challenges can make an already troubling diagnosis worse.
Cancer-related mental health issues include:
Cancer and its treatment may also cause cognitive problems. While mental fog can be seen after someone gets chemotherapy (sometimes called "chemo brain"), other treatments and even cancer itself can lead to changes in your thinking.
Treatment side effects include:
Anyone diagnosed with cancer can develop related cognitive, emotional, and behavioral issues. The more difficult or demanding cancer treatments are, the higher the risk of anxiety and depression.
Some people are at a higher risk of developing cancer-related mental health issues. A cancer diagnosis may worsen mental health symptoms in people with preexisting conditions. Others with a family history of mental health conditions may be at a higher risk as well.
There are also certain times in the cancer journey that are more likely to trigger mental health issues.
These include:
If you have a mental health condition already, it can help if you get ahead of it. Talk with your mental health provider about your feelings and what to expect. Talk with your cancer doctor about continuing to take your medicines during cancer treatment.
The best way to prevent mental health issues is to be proactive about your mental and emotional condition and get help at the first sign of problems.
Talk to your cancer care team about how you're feeling during and after cancer treatment. They can help you reduce emotional or cognitive side effects. They also can connect you with support services, including counseling.
Another major factor in preventing cancer-related mental health issues is ensuring you take time to take care of yourself during cancer treatment. Eat well, exercise, give yourself time during the day to relax, and do activities you enjoy. Try deep breathing, yoga, massage, and guided imagery to help you relax.
It is normal to experience a variety of emotions after a cancer diagnosis. But you should get help if you experience symptoms of depression or anxiety that last for more than a few days.
Symptoms may include:
Mental health issues can be related to your cancer diagnosis itself or the treatments you're taking. If you need additional mental health help during your cancer journey, your cancer care team will refer you to a behavioral health specialist for evaluation.
Behavioral health specialists will talk to you about your feelings and how cancer has affected your life. They can diagnose you and provide counseling services and medicines if needed. They can help you and your family cope with a cancer diagnosis. They can help you go ahead with living your life with cancer.
Treatment for mental health issues related to cancer depends on your diagnosis, symptoms, and the severity of your condition.
Your doctor may recommend one or more treatments.
Medicine for mental health issues related to a cancer diagnosis includes antidepressants or antianxiety medication. A psychiatrist can assess you to see if these types of medicines could be helpful. Medicine can help treat moderate to severe mental health symptoms. Some medicines can also help with other symptoms related to cancer and side effects from cancer treatments.
Your psychiatrist can work with you to find the medications that best suit your life and health situation. Before prescribing medicine, they will consider its potential impact on your cancer treatment plan. The medication may interact with other medicines you are taking.
They'll only prescribe medicines that won't interfere with your cancer treatments.
Counseling for mental health issues related to cancer diagnosis and treatment includes one-on-one talk therapy and group therapy. There is also emotional support counseling for families of cancer patients.
In therapy, you can discuss how to manage stress, depression, anxiety, and mood disorders while you live with cancer.
Counseling can help with cancer treatment-related changes to:
You can improve the quality of your daily life through tactics for managing the physical effects of cancer and the side effects of treatment. Therapists can work with you to create a stress management plan that fits your style and preferences.
Your therapist can also walk you through complementary treatments, like light therapy and exercise therapy, that may help. There are a range of methods to help you and your loved ones deal with the challenges of life with cancer.
The end of cancer treatment can cause unexpected feelings. Post-cancer mental health support can help you rebuild your life after your cancer treatment is over.
After cancer treatment is complete, many individuals do well in terms of mental health. However, others may need ongoing mental health care during this new phase. You may have anxiety that your cancer will come back or guilt about surviving when others haven't. Your cancer treatments may have caused lasting cognitive side effects that you need to deal with.
Death is typically top-of-mind when discussing cancer-related mental health concerns. Counselors can help you and your loved ones deal with thoughts about death and dying.
End-of-life counseling can help patients make decisions about their deaths. They can provide a type of therapy called meaning-centered psychotherapy (MCP), which can provide comfort and peace at the end of life.
Guided by structured questions, MCP helps patients systematically reflect on what matters most to them and how to access sources of meaning during the most challenging times. It focuses on improving a person's ability to recognize their purpose for existence, spiritual well-being, and quality of life.
By UPMC Editorial Staff. Last reviewed on 2024-09-05.
