10 Ways To Manage Cancer-Related Stress

Whether you're a newly diagnosed cancer patient, or you're a survivor several years past your cancer treatment, cancer-related stress is something that touches every person who has the disease, and often their close friends and family members as well.

When they're first diagnosed, patients might worry about the future - what's to come, how to choose the right treatment options, and how to maintain a work or family schedule while caring for their health.

Patients who now are considered cancer-free or have no evidence of disease may find they have anxiety before a PET scan, mammogram or other routine cancer test; or they might worry about a possible recurrence.

"It's likely that your experience with cancer has probably increased your level of anxiety, uncertainty, fear, depression, or even anger," said Kayla Epplin, MSW, LCSW, Clinical Hospital Coordinator with Cancer Support Community Indiana. "We will always have stress in our lives, but we can learn to reduce and manage that stress. We cannot control whether stress or cancer happens in our bodies, but we can control how we respond to it."

Epplin and her colleague, Meaghan Wiggins, LMHCA, OP-CG, Clinical Hospital Coordinator and Art Therapist, explain there are several techniques cancer patients and survivors can use to help manage cancer-related stress on a daily basis.

Key Takeaways: Managing Cancer-Related Stress

• Emotional and social support can help patients learn to cope with stress and reduce levels of depression, anxiety, and disease.
• Doctors can provide referrals to counseling services, and connecting with other patients through cancer support groups offers valuable peer support.
• Activities like yoga, exercise, meditation and talk therapy can help reduce anxiety and promote overall well-being.
• CBT techniques such as cognitive restructuring and coping effectiveness training help patients develop new coping strategies and better access social support resources

Here are 10 ways to help manage cancer-related stress:

1. Mindfulness

Mindfulness is living in the present moment, being aware of what is happening within you and around you at any given time. Mindfulness also includes accepting what is happening, and not labeling it as good or bad.

2. Breathing

Many types of intentional breathing are helpful in reducing stress. Epplin suggests trying "Square Breathing," which includes counting to four while inhaling, counting to four while holding your breath, counting to four while exhaling, and counting to four while holding your breath again. Repeating this four times or more can help calm and relax you.

3. Journaling

It is helpful to share our emotions, not only with other people but with ourselves. Journaling, or writing down your feelings and experiences, can help process them. Journaling may look like a short, bulleted list or paragraphs at a time.

Cancer patients may also find it helpful to create a gratitude journal, writing down things they are thankful for each day or week to focus on some positive aspects of life, even if it's something small.

"Gratitude doesn't negate how we're feeling," said Wiggins. "It doesn't ignore the negative feeling that we're having, but instead it encourages us to find the positivity that lies alongside the negative."

4. Therapy

"Therapy has come a long way in recent years," said Epplin. "Therapy is a safe place that is just yours, and you can use the space to talk about your thoughts and feelings with a person who is completely unbiased and has no prior investments."

Therapy might be done in a one-on-one session or as a group, sometimes specific to cancer patients. Cancer Support Community Indiana, a partner of Franciscan Health, offers free individual counseling to families affected by cancer.

5. Art Therapy

Unlike a typical art class, art therapy classes are led by mental health professionals. The goal of art therapy isn't to create a masterpiece, but to use drawing, scribbling and doodling to process thoughts and emotions. Art therapists walk you through the process and may ask questions or instruct you in how to draw and may help you interpret your emotions through your drawing.

6. Exercise

Exercise is good for stress relief, as it helps release endorphins our body needs to feel good. Exercise can also reduce the risk of illness and cancer recurrence. Exercise doesn't need to be vigorous to be effective - walking, cleaning, and yoga are examples of easy exercise that can have stress-relieving and health-related benefits.

7. Nutrition

"When we eat foods that are nutrient-dense or more nutritious, we can see an increase in our mood, our activity level, as well as our physical health," said Wiggins.

While we don't think of nutrition as a stress management technique, healthy foods can affect us physically in a positive way, reducing the overall stress our body experiences.

Wiggins suggests mindful eating - not multi-tasking while we eat, reflecting on how the food tastes, and how it makes us feel. No one eats healthy all the time, but she suggests an 80/20 rule in which you eat healthy at least 80% of the time.

8. Social Support

Having a group of individuals support you during your cancer journey and beyond is critical. This might include family, friends, and coworkers, but it's also beneficial to be around others who have also been touched by a cancer diagnosis.

"Support groups can be a very empowering place to connect with people who have had cancer," said Wiggins.

Wiggins emphasizes that cancer patients should surround themselves with people who help them feel good about themselves and emphasize the positive, and limit interactions with those who focus on the negative.

9. Meditation

Meditation for stress relief can include many quiet and thoughtful activities such as coloring, journaling, breathing exercises, or walking in nature. Another type of meditation includes guided meditation, led by someone in-person, online or through a podcast, which often includes peaceful music and instructions on what to visualize.

10. Self-Compassion

"Many of us are our own worst enemy," Epplin said. "That voice we hear in our head is often the loudest and clearest voice that we ever hear, so we need to be really intentional about what that voice is saying."

She suggests thinking to and about yourself with kindness, just like you would a friend or family member in the same situation.

Ensuring good mental health during and after cancer treatment is important. If you feel you or your family members need additional support, Franciscan Health offers a variety of free stress-management methods including cancer support groups, cancer nutrition classes, and our 8-week in-person or virtual cancer survivorship program Moving Beyond. Cancer Support Community Indiana also provides free in-person and virtual support groups, classes, and therapy options for cancer survivors and their support persons.