Fear After Lung Cancer Diagnosis: The Emotional Storm
As you know, FLASS is a patient-centered institution. We really mean it when we say that comprehensive medical care is a partnership between physician, patient, staff and care-givers.
We believe our greatest mission is to “address our patients’ specific needs with quality care.”
In our daily vision, as we have stated previously:
1. Medicine is a science…
2. Healing is an art…
3. And striving to meet the very best outcome for our patients remains our mission.”
We begin with these comments just to preface today’s blog article concerning the fear we see in our patients’ eyes when a serious pulmonary disease such as lung cancer is ascertained.
So we dedicate today’s blog to our patients who suffer lung cancer, and the care-givers who watch over them.
How To Beat The Fear: Fear-Fighting Tips for Lung Cancer Patients and Care-givers
Like the experts at Everyday Health, we realize, “Learning that you have lung cancer can trigger many emotions, especially fear.” So, in this blog, we hope you will find some words of assistance, support and help for yourself as a patient and for the family member who is your prime care-giver.
Both for the patient and the care-giver, fear can become visible, even though you try to hide it. Fear “can manifest in many ways, both physical and emotional:”
A. The Mirror Betrays Your Fear: You might notice intense facial expressions. Suddenly, your life is altered by the constant worry about catching up on your worrying! You have a severe case of inability to stop worrying, although you try to deny it and strive to hide it.
Faith, Hope, and Love: These Can Conquer Fear.
B. For Relief of Fear: Try Some Relaxation Techniques: There is extensive proof that meditation, visualization, and yoga are very helpful when fighting the fear of the unknown. So, also, is prayer…
C. Find the Listeners in Your Life: We hope you will discover friends and family members who have the ability just to listen to your expressions of fear, and give you support.
D. Powerful Fear Intrudes on Every Milestone: “Fear is a powerful emotion that can strike at different times after you are diagnosed with lung cancer.”
Hint: Sometimes it helps to specify the fear, as in the case of Arlene Rubinstein, who related, “I was more frightened of chemo than anything else,” She is a 10 year survivor of Stage 3 lung cancer and still registers anxiety when she has a doctor’s check-up.
She volunteers as a phone buddy for the Lung Cancer Alliance. Find out more about the program at their toll-free Help Line at 1-800-298-2436.
Did you know you can ask to be matched with a Phone Buddy volunteer? Likewise, you can email Tara Perloff, Manager of Support Services at tperloff@lungcanceralliance.org. There is no charge for this service, by the way.
Symptoms of High Level Fear
Here at FLASS, we have seen cancer patients and their prime care-givers suffer with the emotions and pressures of the lung cancer diagnosis. We have also seen them deal with the following signs and symptoms:
You might be having difficulty solving problems, even simple ones.
You might also find yourself suffering from distraction during daily tasks or fighting recurring muscle tension. Dry mouth can also manifest itself when you are fighting fear. (You do not have to be a public speaker to suffer this typical symptom of high anxiety.)
Anger and irritability, which are not characteristic of the everyday “you,” might be cropping up in your language and attitude.
Special Tips to Cope With the Fear
If you or your care-giver are feeling afraid, anxious, or stressed after a lung cancer diagnosis, the doctors and staff at Florida Lung, Asthma and Sleep Specialists recommend these strategic behaviors:
1. Stop the Guilt: We do not want you to feel guilty about the emotions you now have. It is normal for you to be sad or anxious.
A. For the patient: Do not blame yourself for your disease; that is an unnecessary guilt trip.
B. For the patient and the care-giver: Do not feel like you must be compelled to see rainbows and roses. In other words, do not feel like you need to be positive, cheery and optimistic all the time.
2. Join a Support Group: We can’t tell you how many people resist this notion. And yet when they finally have enough of the anxiety and the anger, they go to a group. They often report that they wish they had found their group as soon as they had been diagnosed!
For both patients and their care-givers, “It just helps to [be around people] who are in the same boat and who you can relate to.
We are certain there are two online resources which might help you find a group in your own area. One is Cancer.Org Another supportive agency is Cancer Care. Patients who prefer the anonymity of online help can also pursue that option. However, there is nothing comparable to the experience of person-to-person support.
3. Talk to a Nurse: As you pursue treatment, you will undoubtedly find out that oncology nurses know a great deal about cancer and about the journey you are taking. Most patients spend more time with their nurses than their physicians. Thus, talk about your fears, your treatment and your disease with one of them. Their wisdom and experience can be very helpful.
4. Care-givers: Talk to your own doctor! If your fear is incapacitating you in your daily life or if you feel completely drained all the time, see your own doctor. There is no shame in working with your doctor to find strategies or even medication for the crippling kind of anxiety or depression that threatens to control your life.
The Care Giver and the Lung Cancer Patient Can Walk Away from Fear.
5. Cherish The New Day: Know that each day you wake up, researchers are continuously discovering new treatments. Be proactive in your research, and you might even check into clinical trials in your local area.
There are people all over the world that are constantly doing research and giving hope to new survivors every week. “Every single day that you wake up, they are learning something new and better to help you survive,” says Rubinstein.
As they travel through the journey with lung cancer, both patient and care-giver will face many emotions. The doctors and staff at Florida Lung, Asthma and Sleep Specialists hope their patients and patients’ families can find a balance in life between medical schedules and regular moments like work or play.
We hope you will make careful choices to diminish fear. It is only then that you will be able to enjoy life without worrying about what will or won’t happen, and when.
Florida Lung, Asthma and Sleep Specialists conclude these tips with a paraphrase of an old saying, “It is not the moments in life that matter as much as the life in your moments.”