Behavioral/Emotional Health

Cancer and cancer treatment can be stressful. It is normal to feel stressed, anxious, nervous, tense, irritable, or afraid. It may feel like stress and anxiety have taken over your life because they feel hard to control. There is hope. There are things you can do to help lower your stress and anxiety.

Things you can do to feel better:

• Listen to music, watch a movie, take a bath, do arts and crafts, or prepare a meal
• Pray or meditate
• Have a healthy routine that includes rest, healthy meals, and exercise
• Reach out to a family member or friend for support
• Talk with a therapist, counselor, or spiritual leader
• Join a support group

Cancer and cancer treatment can change how you see yourself. Cancer-related body changes come in different forms. For example, you may lose your hair, lose or gain weight, have parts of your body removed, or develop scars or rashes. These changes, and others that cannot be seen on the outside, may affect your ability to have or enjoy sexual intercourse. These changes to your body and abilities can bring up negative thoughts and emotions about how you see yourself.

How to cope:

• Practice yoga and mindfulness
• Talk with a counselor
• Share your concerns with your treatment team
• Join a support group

It is common for people facing cancer to experience depression at some point. Depression is made up of many symptoms including feeling sad (or annoyed) most of the time, having little or no hope, little interest or pleasure in doing things that you once enjoyed. You might feel guilty, like a burden to others, or bad about yourself in other ways. People with depression may also not want to be around or even talk to loved ones. Depression can make you feel trapped, but there are things you can do to help begin to come out from under it.

How to cope:

• Get active by going for a walk or other light exercise
• Share how you are feeling with someone you trust
• Talk with a therapist or counselor
• Join a support group

Above all else, people in cancer treatment and cancer survivors have reported that feeling tired almost all of the time is one of the worst things about the journey. Not only is the body tired, but so is the mind.

How to cope:

• Pay attention to your body and how tired you are
• Do the most important things in your day first
• It is okay not to get everything else done as quickly or even that day
• Do just one thing at a time
• Plan things that need more energy for when you are likely to have higher energy
• Listen to music, read, and spend time with others. Doing these low energy activities can help you take your mind off of feeling tired.
• Try to protect sleep at night by not sleeping much during the day, or at least not near bedtime

Cancer and its treatment can cause hot flashes. Hot flashes are when your face, neck, and chest feel really warm for no reason. These feelings of sudden heat can wake you up at night and can get in the way of enjoying your life. Surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and other medicines can cause hot flashes. If hot flashes are bothering you, it is important to tell your oncology provider about it. Your provider may be able to prescribe medicine to help. Here are a few coping strategies you can also try.

How to cope:

• Drink less caffeine, less alcohol, and fewer hot drinks
• Practice deep breathing
• Wear loose, cotton clothing
• Use fans and open windows to keep air moving when inside

Insomnia is when you have a hard time falling or staying asleep. Pain, worrying and racing thoughts can keep your mind busy and make it hard to sleep. Getting good sleep is an important because it helps your body heal. Here are a few ideas that may help improve sleep.

How to cope:

• Only lie in bed when you are sleepy and ready to go to sleep
• Do not use electronics at bedtime. This includes TV, computers, tablets, and cell phones.
• Use your bed only for sleeping and sex. Do not use your bed as a place to other things like eat or watch TV.
• Get out of bed if you cannot fall asleep after 20 minutes. Do a light activity, such as listen to soft music or soothing sounds, read, meditate or pray.
• Try not to take naps during the day. If you must nap, try to only do so in the late morning or early afternoon.
• Meet with a mental health provider who can help you learn ways to improve your sleep.

Both cancer and the side effects of cancer treatment can cause pain. Managing pain is important for a good quality of life. If pain is making life hard for you, talk to your oncology team or palliative care team to get some help. Here are some things you can do for pain on your own.

How to cope:

• Take your pain medicine as prescribed. Do not wait for pain to get bad before you use your pain medicine.
• Listen to music, watch a movie, take a bath, do arts and crafts, or other light activity. Doing so can help move your focus from the pain to something else.
• Meet with a mental health provider who can teach you ways to deal with your pain.

We offer telehealth services in the form of video for MyChart patients only.

You will need to schedule an appointment by contacting any member of your oncology team.

You will be asked questions so that your provider learns more about you. Your provider will then suggest a treatment plan that might include therapy, medicine, or both.

MD Psychiatrists are doctors who prescribe and manage medicines to treat mental health.

PhD Psychologists are doctors who help patients learn how to manage their symptoms with talk therapy. You may benefit from seeing either one or both specialists.

There is no set number of sessions that patients receive with oncology behavioral health. Every patient will be treated according to their need.

Please contact financial services to see if your insurance covers behavioral health appointments.