Loki

Receiving a cancer diagnosis is life-changing. It's just a couple of words from a medic that can shake all: the plans, priorities, and an attitude to life. Emotionally overwhelming, amidst all the scare and uncertainty brought about by cancer, there is room for hope, resilience, and even strength. Let's find out about the ways of coming to terms with a cancer diagnosis: building emotional resilience and seeking support in such a trying period.

Emotional Resilience

It's not about avoiding feelings that are uncomfortable. Rather, it's about finding one's way through uncomfortable feelings. It's bouncing back from where things take a wrong turn, even when everything seems to be against you.

Emotional resilience is making choices of how to respond in life—similar to how one makes conscious decisions when it comes to betting. You can read more about betting strategies and how they relate to risk management if you're interested. Here's where you can get started in building emotional resilience in the face of a diagnosis of cancer:

1. Learn as much as you can

Knowledge is power, and this holds special importance when it concerns something as complicated as cancer. Becoming knowledgeable about the diagnosis and the treatment alternatives available can definitely help demystify the process, making you feel a little less helpless. Do not hesitate to ask your healthcare team questions; they are always there to help you get through this difficult phase in life.

2. Set small, achievable goals

Having been diagnosed with cancer, it is quite easy to feel your life has spun out of control. Setting some small, achievable goals will give you a feeling of control over your life. Small victories like getting up from bed every morning, taking a short walk, or reading about your treatment options will help build confidence and boost resilience.

3. Positive attitude

While staying positive is not a cure for cancer, it can definitely go a long way in improving your quality of life. Always feel grateful that you experience good things in life, no matter how small they may be. Positive affirmations, meditation, and mindfulness exercises will further help to make you grounded and focused on the present moment.

Leaning on Your Support System

No one should ever have to face a diagnosis of cancer alone. Whether it's family, friends, or even a support group, a support system can provide emotional and practical assistance.

Join a Support Group

Staying in touch with other individuals experiencing or having experienced similar circumstances can be very soothing. In-person or online support groups provide a secure, safe environment through which members can share their experiences, learn valuable insights from others, and realize that they are never alone.

Such groups can even offer practical advice on ways through which, as an individual, you can deal with side effects, ride through the healthcare system, and cope with the emotional toll of taking on cancer.

Accept Help

This one may be a little hard, especially if you are one who generally gives care to others. But letting others provide you with help—those meals, that ride to the doctor, a shoulder to cry on—can make so much difference. Allowing other people to help you does not make you weak; it simply means that you are human.

Find Your Strength

A diagnosis of cancer very often changes what is meaningful and important in one's life. Many people find they have strengths they never would have believed, and this can be a source of deep personal growth. Some find a reinvested sense of purpose, a deepened connection with their loved ones, or an intensified value of small daily joys.

You should also keep in mind that strength will not always emerge as courage. There are times that strength is getting out of bed when all you would rather do is stay underneath the blankets. It is showing up for another round of treatment when you are frightened. It is understanding that you are scared but choosing to move forward anyway. This is the quiet, everyday kind of strength that builds hardiness over time.

Moving Forward

One has to contend with a cancer diagnosis for a pretty long time. There will be good days and bad days, flashes of hope, and moments of despair. Remember, you do not have to walk this path alone. Reach out, ask for help, and take the space to heal emotionally, mentally, and physically. Your capability to bounce back is a testament to the human spirit for all it's worth, and even amidst cancer, it can be a bright star shining through.