Overcoming Fear Of Cancer: For Families.
Terrifying is the only word that can honestly describe the fear you feel during a cancer situation. And there doesn’t appear to be anything you can do that helps with that.
This is scary shit.
Horrible scenarios running through your head, fear and uncertainty that leave you paralyzed, and the stress and anxiety that you can’t seem to shake.
The stakes are so high.
Although treatments and outcomes have come so far over the years, it feels like there are no guarantees with this disease.
When those three little words “you’ve got cancer” explode into your family… they are the scariest words that you will ever hear.
You start to see things differently…
- The things you love.
- Things you’ve taken for granted.
- The things you wish you had paid more attention to.
Suddenly you realize that life is a lot shorter than you thought.
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- finding the best care
- talking with your insurance company
- finding resources that will actually help
- dealing with the fear
- anxiety and overwhelm by this whole situation.
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It’s human nature. We don’t always realize how precious life is until the things we love are threatened. It sucks that the only way we seem to be able to truly appreciate things is when we are faced with a tragedy.
The fact is, we do appreciate life when everything is good.
But the IMPACT is so much different when the whole world is crashing down around you.
And when everything is falling apart, the fear is unbelievable.
So, what’s the secret to overcoming the fear of cancer so you can keep fighting?
Overcoming The Fear of Cancer
Take Back Your Life From Cancer
The first step to dealing with the intense fear is to get some of this stuff off your chest. Cancer is a perceived threat, it affects your daily life and creates physical sensations and symptoms of anxiety. It’s an important thing to start dealing with these feelings of fear.
This free prompted journal was created for my family when the stress and the fear were at an all-time high. So we could gear up to keep fighting hard (even when we were exhausted).
We desperately needed…
- Bring the situation into perspective.
- Find hope when it was hiding.
- Kick start the motivation they needed to find their strength.
You can grab the journal for free here…
Take a Deep Breath
One of the most simple but effective relaxation techniques to help you relax in less than a minute. No, it won’t solve everything, but you’ll feel a big difference after this one little action.
Deep breathing is the logical next step and is a proven method of lowering stress and helping you gain control so you can get through life’s challenges. It can also help you deal with some of the physical symptoms of fear like difficulty breathing, spike in blood pressure, and anxious thoughts.
During difficult situations, it’s an easy thing to do and the best way to start calming down. You just have to remember to do it!
Put Things in Perspective
This experience is terrifying, and it changes constantly so you can never actually trust that you’re in a stable place.
Whatever is happening right now, it’s probably not as scary as those intrusive thoughts that are bouncing around in your head.
I’m not saying that the situation is good, but I am saying that you have survived every challenge that has been thrown your way up until this point and you are going to survive this too.
Hang in there…
Ask for help
You can’t do everything by yourself, you’ll burn out fast. And if that happens, you won’t be able to help anyone. Figure out the people who can help, the people you can rely on.
Even if it’s just for an hour.
Anything you can remove from your to-do list is time that you can use to relax, spend time with your family, catch up on sleep, read a book, or grab coffee with your best friend.
And trust me, there is not a huge amount of time to any of those things once this journey begins so you should take advantage of every single second you have. (And yes, sitting quietly staring at the wall totally counts! At least it’s a break!)
Help during a hard time can be as simple as…
- A neighbor to cook a meal or do a few loads of laundry.
- A friend to pick up the kids or grab a prescription.
- Your sister to cover a doctor’s appointment.
- A cousin to mow the lawn or fix the front door.
- Your sister-in-law to give you an hour off.
Talk to Someone
Unload some of this stuff you’re carrying around. You won’t believe how much better you feel when you get some of it off your chest.
It may be exactly what you need to get your head back in the game.
Talk to a friend, a family member, a co-worker, or text a therapist (which by the way you can do while you are running all over the place.)
You HAVE to push through this.
Talking to someone and unloading all the fear and anxiety you are feeling will help.
Laugh
The truth is, the stress of this whole situation can amplify the fear and make things feel terrifying and hopeless.
Laughing is an incredible (and natural) stress reliever. Sometimes my family and I just laughed because we honestly couldn’t believe how crazy everything was and we didn’t know what else to do.
You won’t believe how much better you feel after laughing your @ss off. Make laughing a priority and find something that will make you laugh so hard you cry.
Have a Meltdown
Your healthcare provider will likely tell you that mindfulness meditation is a better option, but crying is a natural response and an incredible stress reliever and helps tremendously to overcome the fear of cancer.
I always feel so much better after I cry everything out. Aside from the swollen eyes, and the overall feeling of exhaustion…
Crying is a great way to get some of the fearful thoughts, pain, and stress that you’re dealing with out of your system.
Prayer
There are very few things that are certain during this journey.
Things are changing constantly and whatever direction you are heading in now could take a sharp left by tomorrow.
God is the only one who knows what’s actually going to happen here.
We were told in the beginning that my dad had “days to weeks” to live. And we fought Lung Cancer for 21 months (and finished two bucket lists).
A lot of meaningful time and some pretty amazing things happened over the course of our journey.
In the end, God was the only one who knew what was actually going to happen.
You can’t trust much in this journey, but you can trust that.
If you’re looking for a prayer to get you started, you can find that here…
Exercise
Again, when you tackle some of the stress, you take a shot at the fear by default.
So much of this battle is in your head, and your mindset has a lot to do with how you’re able to function on the day-to-day.
Expel some of the negative energy you’re feeling by walking, running, hiking, boxing, swimming, and CrossFit (the list is endless). Working through some of this stress through exercise is a great way to shed some of the stress and keep yourself healthy at the same time.
It’s one of the best ways to combat the stress (and fear by default) and it totally works.
Plug in your earphones, and take a walk. See what that does for your mindset.
Bible Verses
In the most stressful situations, one of the best sources of strength is reading the word of God.
That’s because The Holy Bible can remind you of many important things, such as…
- You can make it through hard times
- Why your calling matters
- The deeper purpose behind what you’re doing
- Your ability to cope with God’s help
- The promises God has fulfilled for others
- The promises God makes to everyone – including you
Whether you’re at the beginning of your cancer journey or you’ve been doing this for a while, these bible verses for overwhelming stress are sure to give you the spiritual boost you need to keep going, even on the hardest days.
I’m confident they’ll help you. The good word always helps me. The power of the holy spirit can help you through trials of many kinds by testing your faith and calming your anxious heart.
This list of bible verses will help you through difficult times, the fear of bad news, and those stressful moments when you feel like you’re having a panic attack.
Break Things
When all else fails. Break stuff.
I promise you’ll feel so much better.
During our cancer journey, my husband and I spent an entire weekend ripping out all of the bedroom ceilings of our house.
We pulled down tons (and I mean TONS) of plaster and lathe and replaced it with new updated ceilings. And we did all the work ourselves.
By the end of the ceilings, we were both totally exhausted. But there is nothing in the world like the feeling of taking on a huge project like that and breaking everything in your path.
It was an absolutely incredible stress reliever. It gave me a great distraction to focus on for a weekend, and as a bonus, the ceilings looked great. We ROCKED it.
How to deal with being scared of cancer is incredibly stressful for families dealing with this disease. Finding strategies that actually work to reduce the stress and the fear is crucial for keeping your head in the game.
P.S. If you’re drowning in all this cancer business, and you have no idea where to start… The Cancer Combat Plan is a step-by-step guide from someone who has struggled through this and found ways to manage the chaos, the stress, and the overwhelm.
Things feel better, and more in control when you have a plan. So if you’re looking for action steps, resources, and strategies that will help you manage this crisis, we’ve got you covered. And it’s totally free…
You can get the Cancer Combat Plan for free here…
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