Psychological care - by Marion Foreman from the Patient Partnership Group
We all know that cancer doesn’t just affect your body don’t we? It messes with your head too. From that first moment when someone says the word ‘cancer’ right through all the investigations, appointments, surgery and treatment. It messes with your head when you are told ‘well, that’s all sorted, off you go – back to your normal life’. ‘Your normal life’? Whatever is that? The life that you had before cancer is not one you can go back to. Having cancer changes you – dealing with all the fear and trauma doesn’t just go away.
You might know about the surgery, the drugs, the side effects – but none of us knows how it will affect our stress levels, our sleep and the way that we behave.
Really, it would be odd if it didn’t have an effect on your psychological health too. We can’t go through so much and not be touched by it.
The way you deal with cancer is dependent on so many things; how you have dealt with stuff in the past, what support you have, how you feel about life and death generally (and how much you have considered these things before), your faith (or not), how secure you feel and what coping mechanisms you have available.
Your cancer treatment team knows it’s tough and there is a huge amount of work going on to make sure that we are all offered the help and support that we need. Training is planned to ensure that everyone that you come into contact with at your GPs and in the hospitals knows what to look out for and what to suggest.
Don’t worry – you’re not going mad – you’re a normal person dealing with a very abnormal set of circumstances – if you need help – then please ask. None of your care team will be surprised – and please give the offered help a go – it might very well make all the difference to the way you get back to the life that is close to the one you want.
