Attend to your emotional healing.
Emotional healing techniques are more varied and individual than physical ones, but there are many that have proved helpful to women with breast cancer. Psychotherapy can be a tremendously important tool at this time, as it is in any time of great emotional stress. Persistent feelings of sadness, loss of self-esteem, and lack of interest in things that brought you pleasure before your cancer are not typical and should be followed up. Many women find it helpful to keep a journal of their emotions and experiences. Writing can help you to sort out your thoughts and feelings.
Consider a support group.
You might want to join a support group, especially if you were too overwhelmed to do it during treatment. Sometimes one-on-one brief counseling can be tremendously beneficial, particularly if you are finding it difficult to move on from the aftermath of your illness. Other women prefer keeping a journal. And still others decide to volunteer to assist other women going through breast cancer or to work with advocacy organizations working to end breast cancer.
Live fully.
Finally, make sure you don’t feel ashamed of what you’ve been through. Cancer still carries a stigma in our culture, and breast cancer can have especially difficult associations. Demystifying cancer is important. So is learning the many positive things that you can take from this experience. I often hear women say that while they would not wish cancer on anyone, they find themselves living more fully, they “don’t sweat the small stuff,” they cherish their families, and they truly value each day.
PREVIOUS PAGE
