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| Dealing with Your Diagnosis | |
| By Norman Straker, M.D. Cancer patients and family members never forget the moment their doctor tells them, "You have cancer." Despite tremendous medical progress, the word cancer has the same dread and fear attached to it that it did 35 years ago when I was in medical school. At that time, there were few effective treatments and a diagnosis was almost equivalent to a death sentence. This is not the state of oncology today. Most newly diagnosed patients will respond to the initial treatments with a positive result: The cancer will be surgically removed or the tumors will disappear after radiation or chemotherapy. As a psycho-oncologist, a psychiatrist with expertise in the care of the emotional problems of cancer patients and their families, I have been given the opportunity to see many newly diagnosed patients and their family members. The important message for these individuals to understand is that after they grieve and then accept their diagnosis, education and support is the key to gaining control of the disease and maintaining a worthwhile quality of life. Unfortunately, most people still react to a cancer diagnosis as though they have been sentenced to a painful and almost immediate death. Patients often come to see me in a state of complete shock. Most likely, they have heard nothing more than the doctor's initial words, "You have cancer." It is common for the newly diagnosed patient to feel that his or her identity as a healthy person has been lost. This begins a process that resembles grieving. The patient, who most likely feels confused, vulnerable and lost, needs to be reminded that he or she is just as healthy as the day before diagnosis. A visual metaphor often helps a person to make sense of what they are feeling. I often suggest that patients imagine that a hurricane has hit their home, breaking their windows and scattering the contents of their household. After getting over the initial shock, the process of acceptance begins. It is common to feel sadness and to yearn for a time when life was relatively carefree. Grieving requires a period of several weeks. Emotional support and education about what lies ahead is crucial before the new realities can be accepted and adequate coping can begin. My best advice to those of you who recognize yourselves in this predicament is to learn as much as you can about your situation from your doctor. Within a reasonable period of time, you should gain a good understanding of what kind of cancer you have and what the options for treatment are. You should be able to anticipate the ways in which your life will change. Be prepared for any expected drug side effects and talk with your doctor about how to resume and normalize your life as soon as possible. |
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