Life after Cancer

The end of cancer treatment marks the opening of a new chapter in people’s lives. While it can bring hope and happiness, it can also bring worries and uncertainty. The fear of a cancer relapse is common among cancer survivors and can sometimes be quite intense.

Unexpected issues might also cause concern. For instance, you might be stressed about the financial issues resulting from your treatment. Visits to your health care team too would be less frequent resulting in a feeling that you are no longer fighting cancer and hence, feeling less under control. Any of these things might make you anxious. However, everyone can benefit from help and support from friends and family, support groups, professional counselors and others.

Going back to “normal”

You don’t see your cancer care team as often as before. These people may have become an important part of your life. Hence, you might feel alone and lost without their support. You might also have difficulty in going back to your role in the family. Tasks that you would do before being diagnosed with cancer are now being done by others.

Apart from the lingering side effects of treatment, you may also as if your body and spirit are tired and need a long rest. All of these feelings absolutely make sense since you have just been through a difficult time. However, facing these feelings and learning how to deal with them is important.

Do not expect everything to go back to the way it was before you were diagnosed. Make sure you give time to yourself, your family, and those around you. Just like it took time to adjust to cancer, it will take some time for you to adjust to life after cancer.

Staying positive

A lot has been written and spoken about the impact of having a positive attitude. So much so that such an attitude might also stop the cancer from growing or keep it from coming back. It’s good to work toward having a positive attitude.

Having said that, cancer is never a result of a person’s negative attitude nor is made worse by a person’s thoughts. You don’t have to act “positive” all the time. Moreover, never stop yourself from telling your loved ones or your cancer care team how you feel.

Learning to live with uncertainty

You may notice that you’re paying a lot of attention to aches and pains in your body. As time goes by, many people say that their fear of a cancer relapse decreases and they find themselves thinking less and less often about cancer.

But even years after treatment, certain events may stir up this worry again – be it follow-up visits or certain medical tests or having symptoms that are a lot like the ones you had when you first found you had cancer. It is good to take help of the support groups, counseling or even spirituality for dealing with the feeling of uncertainty.

Above all, find ways to help yourself relax. Take care of your health with proper diet, exercise and being as physically active as you can. Remember the good news that you are a cancer survivor! You and the people around you can surely adjust to and lead a fulfilling life after cancer.