Coping With The Diagnosis Of Cancer
Many people live in fear of being diagnosed with cancer as it is a disease which has no cure today. If you have seen someone suffer and die from this ailment, you know how bad it can get. When you receive such a diagnosis, positivity will be what gets you through to remission, so read below about how you can cope with your new prognosis.
The first step is to understand what your diagnosis is. Just because you have cancer doesn't mean it is likely to be fatal! Find out what type of cancer you have, if it has spread, if there are treatments available which are effective against it, what side affects you should expect and how you can stop it from coming back. Once you have these answers, you can more easily craft a treatment plan and make changes to your lifestyle to help you deal with what lies in the future for you.
Next, learn all you can about the cancer you have. Find out about causes, foods which help kill it, other lifestyle changes which help you cope and how you can make treatment easier to tolerate. Find support groups specific to your diagnosis and join them to learn from others who have been in your place. They will not only provide you with a shoulder to cry on, but also tips you can't get from anyone who hasn't experienced it themselves. From recipes to anti-nausea treatments, they'll know it all and which advice actually works.
Speaking of food, what you eat will not only impact the cancer itself, but how your treatments work. Talk to your doctor to find out if there are any foods you should avoid or you should be eating. For example, grapefruit is known to make some medicines more potent, which can affect your dosage and lead to horrible side effects. Some foods may help you deal with the nausea from chemotherapy, while others will actually cause the tumor to slow its growth. If you can get a referral to a nutritionist, they can help you learn about how to change your diet.
Staying positive is the only way to truly beat cancer. That means you need a strong support group around you of people you love. That begins when you tell them you have cancer, which can be a hard thing to do. Stay honest and be blunt when you let them know what is wrong. If you can give it to them straight, they won't be confused and will immediately understand what you are saying. Answer their questions and tell them about what sort of treatment will be coming for you. The more you tell them, the more confident they can feel in your future.
These tips are just a jumping off point for you, so brainstorm some personalized methods of dealing with your situation. All it takes is a bit of determination and some effort on your part to regain control of your life. When you tell cancer that it can't rule you, you can make it take a hike!
