StemCell Therapy

SCCA psychiatrist Dr. Nicole Bates, who splits her time between patients with cancer and those without, said uncertainty can either demoralize or empower people. Some cancer patients, she said, become depressed or anxious, while others develop incredible resilience.

So many of us are grappling with the initial affront and lack of control, she said, regarding the current crisis. Ive been struck by how my patients find strength through uncertainty, how they use it to crystallize priorities for living each day.

Fred Hutch psychologist and patient outcomes researcher Dr. Salene Jones described resilience as the ability to adapt to stressful events.

A person can be sad, unhappy or stressed, and still, ultimately, be resilient, she said, pointing to resiliency tips recently published by the American Psychological Association. Resilience is not the absence of feeling stressed but finding a way to cope with it. Its OK to be a mess sometimes. Just not all the time.

Cancer patients have also been staying connected, while apart, for years.

#BCSM (short for breast cancer social media) holds weekly Twitter chats, drawing patients and survivors from around the world. Ditto for other patient communities on Twitter, including for brain cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and many more. People living with disease also regularly gather in closed Facebook groups or vast online patient communities like Inspire, Smart Patients, Colontown and others to ask for advice, grouse about side effects and gain strength from others.

Its easy to become isolated and lonely, said Renee Kaiman, a 38-year-old metastatic breast cancer patient and mother of two from Toronto, Canada. Right now, its good to reach out to people via FaceTime or have phone calls. Try to do things you enjoy to keep your mood up.

Staying connected with yourself is also key, especially when dealing with isolation and angst.

This is a great time to explore creative projects, to listen to music, to try new recipes theyve never tried before, Kleinhofer said. We cant control whats happening right now, but we can control how we respond to it. Things may seem crazy but every day theres something to be thankful for. Find what makes you happy and focus on that, whether its family or friends or the sound of birds chirping outside. And if you start to spin out of control, thats when yoga, meditation and mindfulness can come into play.

More here:
Lessons from cancer patients in the time of coronavirus - Fred Hutch News Service

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