A cancer diagnosis turns a person’s whole world upside down. From then on, a cancer patient does not think, act, or feel the same about anything or anyone. Uncertainty becomes the watchword. The patient wonders how long their life will continue. Patients worry whether a spouse will feel the same about them, look at them in quite the same way, or if sexual activity will even continue given the chemicals that will course through their body. Suddenly, maintaining mental wellness through a cancer diagnosis is unexpectedly a top concern. Life becomes an emotional roller coaster post-cancer diagnosis, rolling from shock to anger, from disbelief to fear, from sadness to depression. Mental health during illness is the new reality. Patients need emotional support in their cancer journey.
Social isolation is a common consequence following a cancer diagnosis, as it is for other chronic diseases. Friends and relatives may retreat because they do not know what to say or how to help. Immediate family members are in shock, too, wondering what family life will be like going forward. The patient may feel that others do not understand the impact that the diagnosis has on them.
If there is anything positive we can say about coping with a cancer diagnosis, it is this: Now is the perfect time to focus on mental wellness during illness. Joining support groups for patients also affected by cancer allows them to share their experiences, and patients can learn from each other.
It is also crucial for cancer patients to access mental health care via psychiatrists who can diagnose mental illness and provide medication management. Further, psychotherapists with clinical experience in talk therapy provide emotional support in cancer recovery.
Navigating the Emotional Roller Coaster
Cancer patients experience a wide range of emotions when coping with a cancer diagnosis, making emotional support in their cancer journey a critical component of recovery. Maintaining both physical and mental wellness following a cancer diagnosis requires a multi-pronged approach:
- Holistic pathways that include:
- Daily physical activity,
- Adequate sleep,
- Suitable nutrition that avoids aggravation of medicinal side effects,
- Managing stress levels,
- Managing emotional distress and anxiety levels,
- Managing social connections, including community engagement,
- Medication management, as well as
- Professional medical and psychological assistance
- Wellness tools that empower patients to make lifestyle changes and behavioral modifications to improve their outcomes
- Working closely with registered nurses who function as navigators through an often user-unfriendly and complex health system and as advocates for patients with serious or chronic diseases, and
- Relying on social workers to help connect patients to the appropriate services and resources they need to satisfy their emotional, financial, and physical needs.
Coping with Chronic Disease with Faith
Coping with a chronic illness means disruptions in a patient’s daily routines and negative effects on their instinctive sense of who they are. Given these disturbances, patients need coping mechanisms.
Coping mechanisms include maintaining physical strength to the extent possible and developing mental toughness. Faith and a spiritual community provide remarkable levels of comfort in the lowest moments. Many sufferers find that their faith in a higher power provides hope amid the chaos. Engaging in and reconnecting with one’s faith community conveys structured coping skills that help to manage stress and fight against anxiety and depression.
Unexpectedly, perhaps, patients find that faith and chronic illness work together to reveal a renewed sense of purpose. Patients discover a renewed connection to their value system. They recognize their existence as a contribution to something greater than themselves. Faith has the power to transform lives during illness.
What Is a Cancer Mental Wellness Guide
As noted above, cancer is a disease with a profound impact on a patient’s emotional and mental health. Cancer causes emotional distress, anxiety, and depression. The disease often takes a huge external physical toll. Changes in body image cause emotional suffering and mental anguish. Many people face extensive financial losses due to treatment expenses and the inability to remain employed during illness. The pervasive fear of cancer’s recurrence may be the most diabolical. It is no wonder that cancer victims suffer stress-related mental illnesses.
A cancer wellness guide is an excellent resource for cancer patients. They come in many varieties from various organizations. The guides provide support, outline strategies, and disseminate vital information to cancer patients and families while they cope with the emotional and psychological fallout from the devastating diagnosis and related treatment anxiety.
Some wellness guides propose support groups and counseling practices to help resolve mental health issues. Others proffer advice on self-care habits, ways to manage fears, anxiety, and sadness. Still others may suggest connections to services that can help improve a patient’s quality of life.
Where to Find Cancer Mental Wellness Guides
Cancer mental wellness guides and other resource material for cancer patients are available from several well-known organizations, as well as a few lesser-known groups, such as:
- American Cancer Society – including the Society’s Emotional, Mental Health, and Mood Changes webpage
- National Cancer Institute
- National Comprehensive Cancer Network
- Cancer Support Community
- Lung Cancer Research Foundation
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Triagecancer.org
- Helpguide.org
- Cancercare.org
- National Alliance on Mental Illness
- Anxiety and Depression Association of America
Do not overlook the patient’s cancer team, which also has access to local mental health support services that can help maintain mental wellness through a cancer diagnosis.
Finding the Best Therapist for Your Journey
If your health battles threaten to affect your mind, you must do due diligence in research to identify the best therapist who will secure your emotional well-being throughout the cancer diagnosis. Therapists are not one-size-fits-all, and each cancer patient’s story is unique. Therefore, finding a therapist who tailors their treatment plans to the specific needs and mental health goals of the individual is imperative.
Refinery Counseling Services, LLC (RCS), founded in 2020, is proud of its woman-minority-veteran-owned professional status. Our licensed therapists, who have years of experience in clinical therapy, form the backbone of this premier private psychotherapy practice. Our counselors pledge to provide compassionate care to everyone in our care and to engage the appropriate community for each client. Our stated mission is to empower every client to grow into the best person they can be and to heal their mental health at their own pace. Our therapists commit to supporting each client in their mental health journey and to aligning them with the resources they need to succeed.
RCS provides a comprehensive array of services, such as:
- Individual psychotherapy – also known as talk therapy
- Group psychotherapy – a small group of participants meets to share their experiences and learn from each other
- Family therapy – strives to bring families back into harmony
- Adolescent therapy – supporting young minds who were traumatized by violence or sexual assault
- Couples therapy – sorting out issues fracturing romantic partnerships
Our therapists provide emotional support in their mental health journey for patients dealing with the following mental health challenges:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Grief counseling
- Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Stresses related to cancer diagnosis and subsequent losses
- Suicide survivor support
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) emotional distress
- Veteran post-service mental health issues, such as re-entry into civilian life, combat trauma, and sexual trauma
We Have Your Six in the Cancer Health Battle
If you feel assaulted on all sides by your cancer diagnosis, know that RCS is on your side in your health journey. We make it easy to reach out to us at your convenience by telephone, email, or by submitting an easy-to-complete form on our website. Contact us today to schedule a free, initial consultation with one of our experienced psychotherapists.
During the initial consultation, your therapist will assess your current mental health status, review your family and personal history, and ask you what you feel are the most important needs and goals for your mental health journey. You will also have an opportunity to ask questions about your therapist’s educational level, clinical experience, session scheduling, and payment arrangements.
The objective of the initial consultation is to make you comfortable with the practice’s atmosphere and the therapist’s personality and style. We also want you to trust the safe space we create for you, intended to share your sensitive information and personal goals. Take time to reflect on the type of services you think you need. Think about the kind of environment that you believe makes you comfortable. Identify the kind of goals that you want to achieve and the pace at which you want to accomplish your goals. If at any point you become uncomfortable with our services, you are free to find another therapist.
To start your mental health journey, we invite you to read our July 3, 2025, article entitled “Breaking Barriers: The Intersection of Mental Health and Disability.”
For Additional Reading
You can also find other articles of interest on our website’s Refined by Grace blog. We hope to hear from you soon. We look forward to demonstrating to you how RCS can help you succeed on your mental health journey.
