Your treatment is over? ... but we're still here
Cobie Whitten, PhD
A diagnosis of cancer and the subsequent treatment can feel overwhelming. The expectation is that when treatment ends, life will get back to “normal.” The days wind down and it is finally the last radiation treatment and/or chemotherapy infusion. You and your loved ones may expect that you will be immediately ready to jump back into your pre-cancer activities at 100%.
Surprisingly for some, ending active treatment is not the end of the cancer journey. Indeed, when treatment ends you may finally have the physical and emotional energy to start processing information and feelings that were too threatening to contemplate while rushing from doctor appointments to phone calls with the insurance company. You may feel abandoned and unsure of what to feel and do next. The transition from cancer patient to cancer survivor can be very challenging.
Some cancer survivors report that ending treatment is more stressful than the initial diagnosis. Although surgery, chemo and radiation are not pleasant, they feel like very powerful weapons. When they end, you may wonder how successfully you will be able to keep the cancer at bay. Furthermore, you may still be experiencing symptoms from the treatment such as fatigue and neuropathy; they do not end the moment you walk out of the cancer center on the last day of treatment.
You may feel inundated with a mountain of tasks that were put off while the treatment was ongoing. Unfortunately, the supportive folks who gathered round during the acute phase of your illness usually retreat during this transition time, thinking you do not need help anymore. You may even be told, “What are you worrying about? You’re done!”
You are not “done.” I would argue that the time when treatment ends is just the beginning; the beginning of processing one’s experience and starting to heal physically, emotionally and spiritually. And even if you are not cured of the cancer, healing is possible.
For those of you who have finished treatment, what challenges have you faced in making the transition from patient to survivor? Do you have any coping strategies you have found helpful?
Providence Regional Cancer System has resources and support to help you navigate through this transition.
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