It takes time to mentally adjust to a cancer diagnosis and there is no “right” or “normal” way to react. Still, understanding your emotions and ensuring your emotional needs are being met will be beneficial in the long term, particularly if you then go through a period of watch and wait, or when you start your cancer treatment.
As a dedicated follicular lymphoma charity, we are here to provide information and support whenever you need it.
If you’ve recently received a cancer diagnosis, or are waiting for results, it can be helpful and reassuring to learn about some typical emotional stages that many people experience to know that you are not alone.
Over time, you might find you’re able to process this shock. But some people are never able to fully accept their diagnosis — particularly with currently incurable cancers like follicular lymphoma.
For many people, denial is a normal part of grieving their cancer diagnosis. If you are young or do not feel ill, for example, you may feel your diagnosis is too unexpected to be true. It can be tempting to seek further medical tests in search of a different diagnosis for your symptoms.
Denial can make life with cancer more difficult, as acceptance makes it easier to cope with the demands of treatment, encourages you to seek support, and allows you to make lifestyle changes.
Some people feel angry at their cancer diagnosis, which can also be directed towards health professionals, or even family and friends. Often this can be experienced with a late diagnosis, as you might blame others (or yourself) for not catching it sooner.
Cancer is often unexplained with few explanations (other than risk factors) for why some people develop it, and others don’t. It’s reasonable to think “Why me?” when something that some people will never understand or experience is happening to you.
“Cancer” is a scary word — there’s no way around it. The word itself is easy to spark anxiety in everyday life, so it’s no wonder that people often experience severe anxiety when they get a cancer diagnosis.
Stress and anxiety have physiological “fight or flight” effects. Your body releases adrenaline, your heart rate and blood pressure increase, breathing can become rapid, and your hands can get sweaty. In many stressful situations, these feelings will resolve by themselves. However, as a cancer diagnosis can be a source of long-term anxiety, you could find that yours linger for longer.
You might experience constant anxiety (which can be very tiring) or your anxiety could cause you to experience panic attacks.
For some people, their cancer diagnosis will be the first time they have to battle anxiety, which can make these emotions even more difficult to identify, understand, process, and resolve.
You might find our wellbeing tips or Cancer Council’s tools for coping a helpful resource for yourself or a loved one.
When you receive a cancer diagnosis, you’re still learning the details of your cancer, your particular case, treatment options, and the long-term outcome.
Even though cancer treatments and outcomes are always improving, lots of unknowns allow your mind to fill in the gaps and assume the worst.
The more you chat to your cancer specialist about your case, the easier it will be to face your circumstances and replace your fear with facts.
This is a normal response to negative news. With a cancer diagnosis, you are getting your head around many different types of loss — whether that’s your health, appearance, lifestyle, or career – now or in the future.
Cancer can also make you feel lonely and isolated, even if you know that family and friends support you. Support groups can be particularly helpful if you want to connect with other people who are living with cancer and it can be helpful to talk to people that can directly relate to your experience.
Though cancer is associated with many negative and challenging emotions, you are not fated to deal with these feelings forever. You might find that after a period of sadness and grief, you achieve acceptance or a feeling of hope and positivity.
Some people find that their diagnosis leads them to make clear goals and priorities, which in turn helps them to adjust their lives, focus on the best parts of life, and approach their treatment with optimism.
You may experience all of these emotions, or some of them – in any order and at any time.
Never be embarrassed to reach out or ask for help if you are struggling. Some people find psychological therapies such as mindfulness to be very helpful, and your care team will be able to direct you with further information and support.
As a dedicated follicular lymphoma charity, we provide support to those living with cancer and their families.
See Our Support Hub for more emotional health advice, plus general information on follicular lymphoma.
