Tips for Coping with Breast Cancer Diagnosis

You are sitting in your doctor's office and you hear those words which nobody wants to hear. You just found out you have breast cancer, so what now? You are probably going to feel 100 emotions at once. And there is not just one way to cope, however watching a mother go through breast cancer diagnosis, there are a few things that might help get you through it.

First and foremost, keep a sense of humor. It is not something that you would wish on your worst enemy, so finding out that you have breast cancer is very emotional. You will probably go through days when you are sad and feel alone. One thing that my mother did to keep her spirits up was using her witty sense of humor. Whenever the doctors gave an update on her progress, she always found a way to find the humor in it. Laugh long and laugh often. Watch funny movies if you need that pick me up. There is no need to let depression take over your life when you are fighting the cancer. Tell jokes or keep your humorous relatives around you for that laughter.

Although we started with the laughter, another point that you need to do is let yourself cry. When are you first diagnosed, you have to give yourself time to take it in. For my mother, this method was to ask herself a lot of "why" and "what" questions. Why was this happening to her, she didn't drink or smoke or anything that could harm her body? You need to get it out and whether it's spending time asking all the why and what questions or physically crying, then give yourself that time. Don't bottle it up inside and let it consume you. If need be, find your closest friend or someone you trust and let it out.

Third, rally the troops. You will need a good support system behind you to help you on those particularly rough days. My mother turned to the women in her life. First she called her sister and then all of her daughters. With the help of her sister, she sat down and talked to her mother. We have been her strongest support group whenever she has needed a hug (although for some of us it was a hug from afar at times) or just someone to talk to. There are also support groups that you can turn to. If you are unsure of the places locally to look, you can always ask your cancer doctor.

Do not be afraid to ask for help. You are looking at chemotherapy, surgery, and possibly radiation. During your chemotherapy, you make experience feelings of exhaustion. My mother still worked through her chemo, because she felt it kept a little normalcy in her life. However, she needed more help around the house to keep things going. It's alright to ask friends and family to help you in certain areas. Do you need someone else to cook dinner for a change, or wash and fold the laundry? Don't feel bad that you aren't up for the challenge. Let someone else do it for a change.

Take the time for a nap in the day. After a long day of working (if you keep doing it through you diagnosis) and chemo, you may feel tired. Take a little nap in the early evening and allow your body time to regroup. Naps can be very therapeutic.

Don't take the weight of the world on your shoulders. You cannot do it all yourself, so it something does not get done, just let it go. Having a "who cares" attitude about the small stuff will help when trying to cope with the big stuff. After my mother's surgery, I took my children up for a visit and my mother was upset the house was not at it's best. I told her we didn't come up to see the house, we came to see her. That is something that will probably go through anybody's mind, but don't sweat the small stuff.

Make sure to do something nice for yourself. Take the time to read a book or watch that movie you have been meaning to. Take a relaxing hot bath and just let the time pass as you relax. You don't have to spend a lot of money to do something nice for yourself. Just don't forget to treat yourself because it will help keep your spirits up.

It is a good idea to remain positive. On those days that might be a little more difficult to do so, think about times that have been bad that you have managed to get through successfully. If you managed to get through those bad times, then you can certainly pull through the cancer. Sometimes we all need those reminders to keep pushing us through to our end goal.

Stay away from negative people and surround yourself with positive people. Although this may sound like a silly thing, it really does make a difference. Although you may not have thought about it before, the attitudes of others can have an effect on your attitude.

Above all, you need to take care of yourself. Just because you were diagnosed, it's not the end of the world. In fact, today, there are a lot of options for combating it. So keep taking care of yourself. Take walks or engage in some form of exercise, eat healthy, follow the doctor's orders, and get plenty of rest. By taking care of yourself, you will be able to achieve anything.