How do I organize my life during therapy?

Cancer completely changes the life of a person and their family members for some time. It presents many challenges that require a complete restructuring of one’s lifestyle: many screenings, lengthy therapy, lifestyle changes, and self-discipline. How patient can organize life during therapy?

Acceptance

As difficult as it may be to understand that you have cancer, you need to accept your diagnosis. No, not accept it, but accept it. Try to let go of all the usual stages of denial, bargaining, anger, and depression. This is psychologically very difficult, but it will allow you to fight faster, take the treatment more seriously and set yourself up for victory.

Disease Diary

Start keeping a diary in which you write down everything that happens to you from going to the doctor to your thoughts about your relationship to the disease. It helps physically and psychologically to treat cancer not as a nightmare, but as a normal diagnosis that takes a little more time to heal. 

Make a schedule

Open your smartphone calendar and schedule appointments with your doctor and allied professionals, as well as dates of tests and times of medication use. Set audible reminders for each of these events. You can also set up a small whiteboard for notes and write the schedule for the day or week on it. The main thing is to remember to look at it every morning. 

Involvement of loved ones

If you can’t react quickly to new time realities – ask your loved ones to help you. It may be better to have them make some decisions for you. For example, make an appointment with the doctor, prepare the documents, make a schedule, settle issues at work, and monitor your compliance with the recommendations of specialists. 

Keeping things in order

It’s important to take responsibility not only for your illness but also for everything around you:

• Gather all treatment documents in one folder and sort them by date.
• Assess whether you will be able to live your old lifestyle or if adjustments need to be made.
• Think about the financial side of things: how much money you have, how much you need for treatment, and where to get it if you don’t have enough.
• Decide whether you need to take sick leave or vacation time at work, you may need to quit your job.

The sooner you get everything sorted out, the easier it will be for you to start treatment.

Fear

“Fear is great…” Ask your doctor exactly what to expect during treatment. Yes, any type of cancer is not a bedtime story, but it is also far from always a diagnosis that requires several years of treatment. Don’t read articles with lots of medical terms, but talk to your doctor about the real situation. Prepare a list of questions on a sheet of paper and ask anything that interests you. 

Preparing

When you get to know your ailment better, start preparing to say goodbye to it. Gather all the necessary things, if inpatient treatment is required. Talk to a psychologist if you’re not sure you can handle the heat. Ask your loved ones for help if you need physical and emotional support. Resolve any domestic issues before treatment begins. 

Support

Your family, relatives, and friends are your best support during treatment. But they are not always in touch, because they have new tasks in addition to their own, aimed at helping you. Therefore, it is worth enlisting the support of third parties, such as a psychologist. Find such a specialist with whom you feel comfortable, write down his phone number, and contact him in the most difficult moments.