Breast Cancer Awareness: Addressing fears
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Breast cancer is the most-feared cancer among women. With a diagnosis comes various stages of coping including unease, worry and acceptance.
According to the Women’s Hospital Foundation, many at first experience a state of denial. Anger can also set in, and a feeling the world has been turned upside down. Some women even wonder what they’ve done to deserve breast cancer. Then there's what can be the overwhelming task of determining the best road to recovery.
Dr. Janelle Strom at East Cascade Women’s Group says before any testing, she prepares her patients: “So I talk to patients before they get their screening mammogram about that possibility, and I just ask them to be brave and get their subsequent study.”
Once a patient has been diagnosed with breast cancer, Dr. Strom says they immediately begin building a treatment plan: “We reach out to them and ask them how we can help. Sometimes it's questions about which provider they should see, what type of therapy they maybe, should have, because there are choices in breast cancer management, depending on the type of tumor, the size of the tumor, the greater the tumor. But I have to say that we really depend on the whole team."
The team can include an oncologist and surgeons.
Dr. Strom advises seeking emotional support and maintaining a positive attitude.
According to the Women’s Hospital Foundation, ways to address your breast cancer fears include:
- Practice the art of happiness. Write in a journal and reach out to friends
- Join a breast cancer support group
- Express your fears to loved ones
- Deep breathing
- Don't let cancer define you
Dr. Strom says most importantly, spend time with constructive and encouraging people who affirm who you are, and how you've decided to deal with breast cancer and its complexities.
