2.20.2018

Dealing with the diagnosis you didnt want to hear

No one ever wants to hear their doctor say the C word. Getting this diagnosis can be a huge blow, especially if you have a large family who depend on you in various ways. But it’s not only a bad diagnosis practically speaking - it can also bring a huge emotional strain to your family as well. But you will have to shoulder the majority of the stress and worry that comes with a cancer diagnosis, and this can sometimes cause problems with your treatment.

Once you do hear that you are suffering from cancer, you need to make sure you start dealing with it as effectively as you possibly can. The only way you are going to beat this terrible disease is if you take numerous practical steps to deal with it. Ready to take your diagnosis and show it who’s boss? Here are some things that you should do to help yourself and your family come to terms with and deal with your cancer diagnosis.


Try And Stay Positive

First and foremost, it is super important that you try and stay as positive as possible. You might find that your mental health starts to decline after you receive your diagnosis, and this will especially be the case if you end up feeling down and depressed about the illness. Thankfully, there are some reasons to stay cheerful. After all, cancer survival rates are constantly on the up, so there will be a good chance that you will overcome this illness. There are a few different things you can do to try and stay positive as well. For instance, you might want to surround yourself with all the people who love you and are happy to support you through this new chapter. It’s also useful to practice lots of self care to ensure that you are feeling as good as you can as much as possible.


Finalize Your Will

Of course, you need to try and stay realistic throughout your cancer treatment and the whole recovery process. Sure, cancer survival rates are increasing year on year. However, you still need to be aware of the fact that you might not survive, no matter how good your treatment is. This is one of the sad realities that come with a cancer diagnosis. So, it’s important to go through your last will and testament to see if any changes need to be made. This way, you can ensure that all of your family and next of kin will be financially looked after in the event of your death. Even if you are sure that your will is all sorted already, it’s important to double check it just in case there are any clauses that need taking out or adding in.


Consider Your Treatment Options

You will of course be eligible for the very basic cancer treatment. This will be covered by your insurance plan. If you want to benefit from better treatment, then it’s worth paying for a better insurance plan. You might be able to make a one-off payment to buy some specialist cancer treatments, which is another option that you have. You could always find out more about NSCLC xenografts if you or your doctor think that they could really enhance your recovery. Of course, it is always best to consult the cancer specialist who is in charge of your care for their recommendations about the best treatment options for your particular form of the diseases. Every type of cancer is different and will respond to different treatments differently. Your doctor or specialist will be the best person to turn to for treatment advice.


Improve Your Diet

When you are going through the recovery period, you will need to make sure that you try and lead a healthy lifestyle, as this can greatly help to improve your chances of a speedy recovery. Not only that, though, but it will also help to boost your treatment and ensure that your body doesn’t suffer from too many side effects. One way that you can try and keep in good health is to improve your diet. Ideally, you should ditch all the process food and ready meals in favor of fresh fruit and vegetables. If you eat things like bread, pasta, and rice, try and stick to wholemeal options as white varieties have had all the nutrients stripped from them. You should also try and keep your meat intake down to a minimum as there have been some studies and research that link it to an increased risk of cancer. Cooking from scratch is also another way to ensure you are eating as well as possible.


Grow Your Support Network

It’s important that you find as much help, support, and advice as you can once you are going through your cancer treatment. To help you with this, you should try and get as big a support network in your life as possible. Of course, your friends and family will be a big part of this. I’m sure that the majority of them will want to help you with anything that you need, such as doing your weekly grocery shop for you or going with you to your hospital appointments. But you shouldn’t forget that all of your doctors and nurses who you are regularly in contact with also make up your support network as well. Whenever possible, you should try and grow this network so that you can get as much help as possible when you need it the most.


Continue With Your Exercise

Hopefully, you were very active and took part in plenty of weekly exercise before you got your cancer diagnosis. Well, there is no excuse to give up this exercise routine now! However, if the cancer is leaving you feeling extremely tired and weak, then you will obviously have to cut back your physical activity accordingly. But if you still feel physically fit, then there is no reason for you to stop your weekly exercise sessions. In fact, keeping up with it could help to boost your immune system’s fight against the illness. Of course, it’s always necessary to check with your physician to make sure that it is safe for you to continue with your exercise even if you do feel fine when you do it. There could be an underlying issue that your doctor will be able to flag up for you.


Join A Local Support Group

There are lots of support groups and organizations that have been set up to give cancer sufferers help and support as they work through their treatments. These support groups also help individuals once they have completed their treatment and are in the recovery period. It’s a really good idea to join your local support group. Groups hold regular meetings in which experts and professionals can give you lots of help and reading material so that you can find out more about your illness and treatment. But that’s not the only reason why it’s a good idea to join such a group. You will also be put in contact with other people who are in similar situations to you. You’ll then be able to chat to all the other cancer sufferers about their experiences with the illness and treatment.


Review Your Finances

When you receive a cancer diagnosis, you might find that you need to take a close look at your finances and try to improve them. This will be especially important if your illness means that you need to give up your job. If you aren’t working for a prolonged period, you will find that you stop receiving sickness benefits from your job. That’s because statutory sick pay only lasts for so long. So, you might need to place your savings into strong investments where they can accumulate more interest. That way, your savings will last for longer while you need to live off them. You could also see about applying for some benefits from the government. There will be a few that you will be eligible for while you are undergoing treatment and unable to work - it’s worth speaking to a cancer specialist about these as they will have a good idea of what you can apply for.

Find Your Own Coping Strategies

We all have our own coping strategies for certain situations and scenarios. It’s important that you take some time out so that you can find the best coping strategies for you to use right now. Some people find that taking part in more self-care really helps them cope with all the stress and strain that cancer brings. You might prefer to start to keep a daily journal so that you can write down all the feelings and emotions that you go through. Some people find that writing down all of their feelings in this way really helps them come to term with things.

Getting through cancer won’t be easy, but there are things you can do that will make your treatment a lot easier on you. Just remember to try and stay positive!

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