Coping with Lung Cancer

Lung Cancer

Coping with Lung Cancer

Find out what you can do, who can help and about how to cope with a diagnosis of lung cancer.

Your feelings

You might have a number of different feelings when you're told you have cancer. You may feel shocked and upset. You might also feel:

  • Numb,
  • Frightened and uncertain,
  • Confused,
  • Angry and resentful,
  • Guilty.

You may have some or all of these feelings. Or you might feel totally different. Everyone reacts in their own way. Sometimes it is hard to take in the fact that you have cancer at all.

Feelings are a natural part of coming to terms with cancer. All sorts of feelings are likely to come and go.

Coping Emotionally

Having cancer can be very hard to cope with. When you are trying to cope with an illness there is no right or wrong way to feel. Everyone is different and you will deal with things in your own way. You are likely to feel a range of emotions when you are diagnosed with cancer. These may change over time, during treatment and when treatment has finished.

Talking to your relatives and friends or someone else about your cancer can help you to cope. Counselling can help you to cope better with the difficulties you’ll face. It can help to reduce your stress and improve your quality of life. Understanding more about what counselling is, how it can help and the different types can help you decide which type and if it is right for you.

Talking to other people

Talking to your friends and relatives about your cancer can help and support you. But some people are scared of the emotions this could bring up and won’t want to talk. They might worry that you won't be able to cope with your situation.

It can strain relationships if your family or friends don't want to talk. But talking can help increase trust and support between you and them.

Help your family and friends by letting them know you would like to talk about what’s happening and how you feel.

You might find it easier to talk to someone outside your own friends and family.

Specialist nurses can help you if you’re finding it difficult to cope or if you have any problems. They can get you the help you need. They can also give you information.

Helping yourself

You are more able to cope and make decisions if you have information about your type of cancer and its treatment. Information also helps you to know what to expect.

Taking in information can be difficult at first. Make a list of questions before you see your doctor. Take someone with you to remind you what you want to ask and help remember the answers.

Ask your doctors and nurses to explain things again if you need them to.

Remember that you don’t have to sort everything out at once. It might take some time to deal with each issue. Ask for help if you need it.

Treatment causes side effects. These can be mild or more severe. Tell your doctor or nurse if you have any side effects or if they get worse. They can treat them and help you find ways of coping.

Dietitians can help you with any eating problems you have. These might include difficulty eating or swallowing.

Physical problems of lung cancer

Lung cancer and its treatments are likely to cause physical changes in your body. These might affect the way you feel about yourself.

You may have symptoms such as a cough or breathlessness. This can make you anxious.

Changes such as weight loss and hair loss can affect your self esteem and the way you relate to other people. Your dietitian can help you maintain your weight and your nurse can help you look at ways to cope with hair loss.

Tiredness and feeling lethargic a lot of the time is common during treatment and for some months afterwards. Resting but also doing some gentle physical activity can help.

Surgery can cause scarring or you might have pain after your operation. Talk to your doctor or nurse if pain is a problem. There are lots of things they can do to help. These include changing your pain medicines or supporting you with relaxation techniques.

Other physical side effects:

This is a known syndrome which causes a loss of buoyancy control following a pneumonectomy. You should talk to your surgeon about the possibility of this happening to you before surgery takes place. Understanding risks like this, especially if you are a swimmer, would be important to know.

Relationships and sex

The physical changes you have might affect your relationships and sex life. There are things that you can do to manage this.

Coping practically

Practical things you and your family might need to cope with include:

  • Money matters,
  • Financial support, such as benefits, sick pay and grants,
  • Work issues,
  • Childcare.

Talk to your doctor or specialist nurse to find out who can help. Getting early help with these things can mean that they don’t become a big issue later.