“Why me?”, “why God is Punishing me?”, “Everything has come to an end”…[Patients Thinking]

If you are having these thoughts and emotions(Sadness, irritability, anxiety etc.) then it is absolutely ‘OK’ – Because your reactions are NORMAL to the ‘Abnormal’ Situation which is not under your control. Experiencing these is not an indication of your WEAKNESS rather a manifestation of your healthy coping ability.

Each and every patient experience the similar thoughts and emotions in a varying degree at the time of diagnosis and during the entire treatment process. However, having these for long period of time may affect your daily functioning, immune system and hence entire treatment process.

Psycho-Oncology is an interdisciplinary field at the intersection of physical, psychological, social and behavioral aspects of the cancer experience for both patients and care givers. The role of psycho-oncologist (clinical psychologist/ psychologist working in oncology field) starts from the day of diagnosis and continues till the end of the treatment and beyond as per need, to reduce the adverse effect of psychiatric illness or symptoms on immune system.

Common Symptoms Patient Experience after diagnosis and during treatment process:

• Sadness
• Irritability
• Anger Outbursts
• Anxiety
• Changes in sleep, Appetite & Energy level
• Crying behavior
• Hopelessness
• Death wishes
• Suicidal ideation
• Feeling of guilt
• Poor Concentration
• Difficulty in remembering

[Some of these symptoms may be manifested due to the side effects of the treatment Process.]

Healthcare Team & Your Role

Like other diseases, treatment of cancer follows the team approach – A team of experts: Medical Oncologist, Surgical Oncologist, Radiation Oncologist, Psycho Oncologist/Clinical Psychologist, Clinical Dietitian/Nutrician and nursing experts. In this team you are also an expert of experiencing the symptoms and your family too as an observer of your symptoms. Thus, being an expert of the healthcare team your role is to report your symptoms/difficulty to respective doctors and share your distress to psycho-oncologist or clinical psychologist and taking care of yourself as prescribed.

TOGETHER WE CAN FIGHT AGAINST CANCER

- Sucharita Chatterjee [Clinical Psychologist]