After receiving a cancer diagnosis, it takes time for those affected and their families to process the shocking news. They first have to get used to the new situation and the challenges that come with cancer. This process of coping with the disease also includes finding a way to live with the cancer. Read here what can help you in everyday life to improve your quality of life despite the disease and where you can get support.
Help with cancer in everyday life
For many cancer patients, it is a great challenge to juggle the numerous doctor and treatment appointments that come with the diagnosis, as well as everyday tasks. This is often not just a problem of time, but also has to do with the physical and mental state of those affected.
The disease itself and cancer therapy can be very stressful psychologically and result in the body being weakened. Working, looking after the children, shopping or doing housework, all of this can be extremely exhausting for many people with cancer, or at times it may not be possible at all.
It can therefore be very useful for those affected to honestly communicate their own needs and limits and to look for suitable solutions to the situation in discussions with friends or relatives. If you need support as a cancer patient, speak openly about it.
It is not a sign of weakness to ask for help. The people around you will certainly be happy to support you during this difficult time. Sometimes it can be even small things, such as accompanying you to doctor's appointments, that can be a great relief for you be it because you need distraction or because your illness limits your mobility.
If you live with several people, you could discuss a new distribution of household responsibilities together. If you live alone or do not receive support from relatives or friends with cooking, cleaning or doing laundry, you have the option of applying for household help.
The prerequisite for this is that you do not have a care level of 2 to 5. Even if you are a person with cancer and have a child under the age of 12, you have the option of claiming such a benefit. It is best to inquire about this with your health insurance company early on.
Psycho-oncology: therapeutic support in everyday life
In general, routines or regular activities are important to give structure to everyday life and thereby reduce stress. It can therefore be particularly valuable for cancer patients to adopt a daily routine.
However, if you find it difficult to return to everyday life or to participate more in public life after the cancer diagnosis due to fears and insecurities, professional psycho-oncological care can be helpful. Such therapy is intended to help you better cope with life with cancer and find ways to get through therapy as best as possible.
In this way, those affected learn valuable strategies for dealing with the disease, which can significantly help reduce everyday stress.
Leisure: Participation in social life with cancer
Many people with cancer find it difficult to continue to participate in social life after their diagnosis. Those affected need rest and relaxation, especially after surgical interventions or medication. This is often accompanied by the patient withdrawing.
This is completely normal in such a situation. It is therefore important that relatives show understanding. However, if this withdrawal continues over a longer period of time and those affected are also plagued by anxiety, it is even more difficult to return to their normal everyday life.
The Cancer Aid therefore advises people to take part in social activities again as soon as possible. Of course, it doesn't have to be a concert or a dance event, but how about a cozy movie night with friends or a quick visit to a birthday party?
Perhaps you could also consider volunteering or visiting a self-help group. Social interactions and exchanges with other people can improve your quality of life and thus also have a positive influence on how you deal with cancer.
Testimonials
For those affected and their families, cancer takes up a lot of space in their everyday lives. Constant doctor's appointments and examinations, hospital stays and fear of the course of treatment or the disease usually mean that cancer is permanently the focus of the patient's life, while other issues are pushed completely into the background.
For many people, this is very stressful because they are constantly confronted with their diagnosis and as a result lose their joy in life.
In an interview with social media blogger Linda Wagner ( @just_inked87 ), who was diagnosed with breast cancer during her second pregnancy, she tells us how valuable it was for her to find a healthy balance for herself. She was able to do this primarily by networking with other cancer patients, including through social networks.
This gave her the opportunity to talk to those affected about cancer and the worries that come with it at any time, while she tried to distance herself from the topic when dealing with friends who were not affected and devote herself to other, pleasant things.
Breast cancer blogger Nicole Kultau tells us in a conversation that doing things together with her son or friends helped her to regain her strength during her illness. But open and honest conversations can also be worth their weight in gold when it comes to clearing your head.
Nutritionist and breast cancer activist Carolin Kotke advises setting positive goals to help you get through cancer treatment: "It is important to have realistic goals and to set them for yourself and not for other people. This could be a long-unfulfilled dream such as a trip, a hobby or another event in life that you may have been putting off until now."
Creating balance
Perhaps you can find a strategy or activities that allow you to distract yourself from the topic of cancer from time to time and thus go through everyday life with a little less stress. If it is physically possible for you, sport and exercise can help to clear your head and at the same time have a positive effect on the course of the disease.
According to the Cancer Aid, a long-term lack of exercise can, however, increase the risk of secondary diseases. Cancer sufferers therefore have the option of applying for rehabilitation sport through their health insurance.
But less physically demanding activities such as listening to music or making music yourself can also be a useful routine to take your mind off things and better cope with life with cancer. Music therapy can also be a good way to compensate for the physical and mental stress caused by the disease. The same applies to other artistic therapies or art therapy, which can help patients cope with cancer and thus improve their quality of life.
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