กลุ่มดูแลเพื่อผู้รอดชีวิตจากมะเร็งกรุงเทพมหานคร
Cancer Survivors Support Center Bangkok
Lifestyle
Lifestyle is not only exercising and healthy diet. Many other factors are part of our lifestyle among two major elements they are as important as exercising and diet: Stress and Sleep. In most cases those 4 elements are a pillars to a healthy lifestyle. If one is not healthy, the entire structure could be weak and at high risk of disfunction.
In this page will talk about stress and sleep management.
Almost all cancer patients and survivors will experience mild, moderate or severe stress, anxiety and fear in response to diagnosis and treatment. These responses may last for only a few days or weeks, or they may become a longer-term conditioned response that impacts everyday life. If these responses become ‘conditioned’ and are experienced on a long-term basis, (e.g., for months or years, not just weeks) it will be important to develop skills to mitigate these conditioned emotional responses.
I’ve Finished Treatment, So Why Don’t I Feel Better?
Often, the greatest risk of depression comes after completing cancer treatment. We know from the research that Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and its related depression most often occurs six to eight weeks after cancer treatment has ended.
Why is this so? Cancer survivors will tell you that when in treatment, their medical providers and others, including themselves, are very busy saving their life, and watching their medical status closely. So, even in this fearful time of turmoil, there is the comfort of knowing that much is being done to produce the best medical outcome. Once the treatments have ended, the survivor enters a different stage of recovery. In the post-treatment stage, there is time to think more deeply about the ‘big’ questions. Why did this happen? Was it something I did? What should I do now?
There is also the concern of recurrence. The term “waiting for the other shoe to drop” is used often among cancer survivors who have recently completed their treatment. They are no longer being medically ‘watched’ on a daily or weekly basis, and they become fearful of what may be occurring in their body. So, it is important to recognize that depression can occur at the time of diagnosis, during treatment, and even well after treatment has ended.
What If I Can’t Be ‘Cured?’
If cancer treatment lasts for years, as with metastatic disease, the risk of depression is even greater because ‘treatment weariness’ may set in. Even in Stage IV patients, cancer can often be treated and managed long-term, much like a chronic disease, and patients can experience decades of productive, high quality life. However, in those survivors who cannot be cured, the treatment journey can wear on their emotional and physical resources. It is very important that stage IV patients develop ‘smart’ strategies for mood state management and not ‘give up.’ Research has clearly demonstrated that lower levels of depression can extend survival time and even help significantly slow metastatic disease.