Consumer Guide to Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer Information

• Breast Cancer Information, including types and stages.

Breast Cancer

• Preventing Breast Cancer and contributing factors.

Breast Cancer Treatment

• Guide to Breast Cancer Treament options.

Breast Cancer Care

• Living, Coping and Surviving with breast cancer.

Breast Cancer Directory

• Breast Cancer Treatment, support, centers and doctors.

Breast Cancer Care

It is understandable that a woman will experience many overwhelming thoughts and feelings when she first discovers she has breast cancer. Breast cancer also takes quite a toll physically, as the body goes thru cancer treatments and tries to fight the breast cancer. To make it thru day to day, a woman has to rely on the strength from within that comes from her will to survive and the desire to keep living life. During this challenging time, help and support from others is invaluable.

Coping Techniques for Breast Cancer

Life changes with breast cancer. While a woman may wish to keep up appearances and not let breast cancer change her daily life, it will. Making some changes in routines and plans is not giving in to the disease, but necessary steps of coping with breast cancer. In dealing with all the emotional and physical challenges that you might face with breast cancer, hopefully you can find some of the following tips and advice helpful and reassuring.

Talk it out - don't hold in your emotions. It helps to have someone you can confide in, someone who you can be completely honest with about your feelings. It should be someone who you feel safe with and someone who is willing to listen and able to handle whatever you may say. It may be your husband, a close friend, a sister, a mom, a counselor, a minister, priest, or rabbi.

Another good way to express your feelings is to write them out in a journal. Many women find it therapeutic to get their thoughts and feelings out by journaling. It's a way of being honest with yourself and saying what you want to say, even if you don't want to talk about it with someone else. As you look for answers, don't blame yourself or try to figure out what you did to cause breast cancer. No one knows exactly what causes one woman to get breast cancer and another not to develop it. There are no answers.

It's okay to cry. You may find yourself crying, and this is perfectly normal. Many women handle stress and overwhelming emotions with tears. Being diagnosed with breast cancer is frightening, and it is best to let the emotions out so you can work thru emotional healing. It may take some time before you can do more than constantly think about the diagnosis and surgery or treatments, but that's okay.

Take it easy on yourself. Give yourself permission to "let it go." Some things don't need to get done. The house doesn't need to be perfectly clean, chores can wait, projects can be postponed. It's okay to just let some things go. You want to try and focus your energy on healing, not on being stressed out. Accepting an "it's okay" approach will help reduce the stress. Forgive yourself if you forget to do something or just don't feel up to answering the phone everytime it rings. The people who know what you're going thru will understand.

Take care of yourself. If you need extra rest, whether it's a nap during the day or sleeping more at night, get the rest and don't feel guilty. Your body needs the extra time to rest and recover, especially after surgery and during radiation therapy or chemotherapy treatments. Extra rest will not only help physically, but can rejuvenate your mood and sense of being as well. For emotional pick-me ups, make time to do something you enjoy. It can something as simple as enjoying a picnic lunch with a friend, taking a walk in the park, asking your sweetheart to give you a foot massage, taking a relaxing bath, or watching a movie.

Learn to just say no. If you are feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, it's time to set limits. You may have to cut back on social commitments and other activities, but that's okay. Determine what things you can postpone, what things you can let go, and what things someone else can do for you.

Accept help. Family and friends often want to help but may not know what to do. When they ask what they can do, answer with specifics. You might answer, "Could you pick up some groceries for me at the store?" or "Could you pick up Sara from school tomorrow?" It's also okay to ask for help. Someone close to you may not know how to reach out, but will be more than willing to help if you just let them know.

If you need comfort and a hug, just reach out. Many people are unsure of how to respond to people dealing with difficult situations and may hesitate in their actions. Most people will respond in kind, however. If you initiate a hug, it can make everyone feel better.

Don't be hesitant about reaching out for support. Many women depend on the strength and support they get from family and friends. For some women, it might be found in their faith or religion, whether it's reading inspirational books and scripture or participating in prayer groups or religious services. Other great resources are breast cancer organizations and breast cancer support groups. The Reach to Recovery program offers one-on-one support from breast cancer survivors. The American Cancer Society (ACS) offers support for all aspects of dealing with breast cancer with their I Can Cope programs. These classes are free, and include sessions on cancer development, cancer treatment and side effects, up-to-date cancer research and news, relieving cancer pain, nutritional advice, help with make-up and ordering wigs for hair loss, finances and money matters, breast reconstruction and implants, and restoring sexual intimacy and enjoying a sexual relationship after breast cancer surgery.

The ACS also offers a great publication to help women cope with their breast cancer experience. "A Breast Cancer Journey, Your Personal Guidebook" provides tips for coping as well as how to replace negative thoughts with constructive and realistic ones. It covers restoring a healthy body image after breast cancer surgery, overcoming the fear of recurrence, feeling whole again, and renewing hopes and dreams for the future.

If you need help with financial issues, most hospitals and cancer clinics have a social worker that will help you work out financial issues and deal with your insurance company, Medicare and Medicaid. Contact the ACS in your area and take advantage of their free educational classes on finances, including "Taking Charge of Money Matters."

As you are trying to live and cope with breast cancer, remember you are not alone. Focus on being a survivor, just like the millions of other women who have gone thru this experience and survived. Seek out support and take steps to restore yourself physically and emotionally. You can be a breast cancer survivor too.