Taking Care of Yourself After a Cancer Diagnosis
by Sheryl Kraft
One of the most important things I discovered early on is the importance of taking care of yourself. Sure, there may be people who reach out to help, if you're lucky. But even if you do have a strong network, it's imperative to know how to be alone with yourself and tap into your own private resources.
Here are some of the most important lessons I've learned:
Schedule time to think. Everyone copes differently. I have a friend who insisted that she didn't want to ever think about breast cancer again—and that was just a few short months after her diagnosis. But what she perhaps did not realize is this: it's nearly impossible to run away from the knowledge that you had or have breast cancer. Thoughts and reminders will always be around. For me, just glancing at someone's ample cleavage was enough to remind me of the lack of my own. (And unless you're walking around with your eyes closed, ample cleavage is all the rage, whether it is in magazines, on television or in person.)
Others will be consumed with worrying around the clock. Neither approach is healthy, of course. Stress has been shown to impact immunity among breast cancer patients so it's best to minimize the amount we expose ourselves to. In a large study, Ohio State researchers reported that the stress women experience after their diagnosis and surgery can weaken their immune response.
While you may not always be happy—after all, this is tough stuff—other research has demonstrated that general feelings of happiness and optimism can play a protective role against breast cancer.
Try this: Allow yourself 15 minutes a day to think about your fears and concerns—and no more. Yes, it requires discipline to stop your thoughts once time is up, but doing so will free you up to enjoy the rest of your day, unencumbered by unpleasant feelings and memories. Don't want to sit and think? Write it down: short sessions of expressive writing have been shown to positively impact a patient's quality of life. (Source: The Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center; http://lombardi.georgetown.edu. Press Release, February 21, 2008; Georgetown University Medical Center.)
