Essence Of Counseling To Cope With Cancer

By Brian Morgan


Cancer survivors have had the opportunity to live longer than it was about 20 years. During that time, it was believed that malignancy had no treatment. Things have changed with the new technology and new remedies have been found in Oncology. Currently, there are remedies that have changed things and supportive services like counseling to cope with cancer.

Even with the medical developments, a diagnosis of malignancy is often not taken with ease. Patients get overwhelmed when diagnosed with the disease. In most cases, they live in denial due to the impact of learning they have the disease. The mental well-being of the victim is of great concern and the counselor needs to offer their services. Some patients take as a death sentence but with the help of a counselor, they learn to cope with the disease.

Counseling can assist a patient to understand the level of the disease. The counselor will be able to explain to the victim the stage of diagnosis and the best way to care for themselves. Some patients may be frightened with the thought of their life coming to an end. This is because cancer has been known to be incurable. However, with a counselor who understands malignancy better, the patients will have a better understanding.

The structure of the healthcare system is also an issue to be addressed. Most patients do not understand the healthcare system and how to access treatment. Therapists have the role of assisting the patients to understand the medical system and how to access cancer therapy. Through the help of a therapist, the struggles and stress are reduced.

The psychotherapists help restore hope through encouragement after diagnosis. Malignancy can easily place patients in states of hopelessness. Some do not fully recover even after being healed due to the trauma of the disease. They even think this disease may recur. The therapist has the duty of assisting the victims fully recover and continue with their normal way of life.

The counselor is also beneficial to the family in general. When a family member is diagnosed with malignancy, the entire family is affected. This can lead to sadness, anger, and stress among family members. Group therapy for the family members is important to help them be familiar with this disease. This will also give them an insight on how to care for the patient. Engaging the whole family helps them have a better understanding of what cancer is and how best to go about it.

The counselors help patients accommodate the unexpected changes from their day to day life as a result of the disease. At particular stages, patients may be required to undergo surgery losing affected organs in order to survive. In some cases, loss of hair is observed. Losing organs can be traumatic to the patient. A therapist is thus required to explain the essence of losing such organs and how to adjust to the new changes.

Finances are also worrying when it comes to cancer patients. The treatment malignancy patients needs are usually very expensive and often than not, the patients are not able to afford them. These situations can be really stressful for the patient. They are guided on how best to utilize the available resources by their therapists.




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