Informs readers about the emotional side of cancer, providing a guide for understanding what is to be expected, showing them how to handle their reactions through diagnosis, treatment, and survival, and offering guidance on how to turn the experience into an opportunity for psychological growth.

Hearing the words “You have cancer” can be devastating—some cancer patients even say that the emotional pain and loss of certainty from hearing this are worse than the pains from the cancer, surgeries, radiation, chemotherapy, and other treatments. This is the intimate journey of a melanoma and breast cancer survivor who honestly, and sometimes even humorously, shares her own story and offers supportive emotional tools to help people diagnosed with cancer, and their loved ones and caregivers, work through the emotional pain and upheaval of a cancer diagnosis. You will be supported in knowing what it feels like to hear you have cancer and be given a variety of helpful ideas to start feeling better whether you are newly diagnosed, in treatment, or months or years after treatment. If you are a caregiver, friend, or family member who wants to help, you will get a better understanding of the cancer experience as well as tools to help the person you care about.

This compassionate book presents dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), a proven psychological intervention that Marsha M. Linehan developed specifically for the impossible situations of life--and which she and Elizabeth Cohn Stuntz now apply to the unique challenges of cancer for the first time. *How can you face the fear, sadness, and anger without being paralyzed by them? *Is it possible to hold on to hope without being in denial? *How can you nurture supportive relationships when you have barely enough energy to take care of yourself? Learn powerful DBT skills that can help you make difficult treatment decisions, manage overwhelming emotions, speak up for your needs, and tolerate distress. The stories and collective wisdom of other cancer patients and survivors illustrate the coping skills and show how you can live meaningfully, even during the darkest days.

WINNER OF THE BEST HEALTH BOOK CATEGORY IN THE GUILD OF HEALTH WRITERS HEALTH WRITING AWARDS 2012 HIGHLY COMMENDED IN THE POPULAR MEDICINE CATEGORY AT THE BMA MEDICAL BOOK AWARDS 2012 Coping with life after cancer can be tough. The idea that the end of successful treatment brings relief and peace just isn't true for countless survivors. Many feel unexpectedly alone, worried and adrift. You're supposed to be getting your life 'back on track' but your life has changed. You have changed. With reassurance and understanding, Dr Frances Goodhart and Lucy Atkins help readers deal with the emotional fallout of cancer whether it's days, months or years since the treatment ended. Drawing on Dr Goodhart's extensive experience working in the NHS with cancer survivors, this guide is packed with practical and simple self-help tools to tackle issues such as worry and anxiety, depression and low mood, anger, low self-esteem and body image, relationships and sex, fatigue, sleep and relaxation. If you are a cancer survivor, this book will support you every step of the way. If you are supporting a loved one, friend, colleague or your patient, this is a vital read.

Ones journey through cancer does not end with the last treatment. Cancer affects patients and survivors not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well. Living through cancer impacts ones sense of self, ones energy level, and ones ability to move on. The cancer experience calls into question the meaning and purpose of life. It affects ones relationship with self, others, and God. Moving forward from the shock and trauma of cancer requires that survivors take time to address these inner dimensions of their cancer experience. This book does just that. It is a compelling personal journey through the many challenges faced by survivors as they attempt to reclaim their life after cancer. The author, a ten year cancer survivor, believes that facing and walking through the emotional and spiritual upheaval of the cancer experience can have a transforming effect on ones life. She describes her own process, focusing on the first two years after diagnosis---a time of intense fear, anxiety, uncertainty, and turmoil. Acknowledging, facing, and walking through this pain brought her to a place of greater emotional and spiritual freedom---to a richer quality of life. Although each story is unique, survivors live through similar emotional and spiritual struggles. Questions included at the end of each chapter invite the reader to reflect upon their personal journey as a way of working through whatever is preventing them from moving forward. This book is a must read for survivors living through the inner struggles surrounding their cancer experience and movement forward. It is a source of support for those feeling alone in their pain. It is a guide for those wishing to heal and grow emotionally and spiritually from the crisis of cancer. It offers hope and encouragement to all cancer survivors.

Cancer will affect most people at some point in their life either directly or indirectly. My personal experiences have shown there are many emotions which come into play for the patient as well as their family, friends and acquaintances. We have all heard of what cancer is but few know the emotional toll on everyone. Many do not understand how to act or feel during this time or understand what their role could or should be. Understanding how the patient is surviving cancer, how they process the illness, and what their expectations are will help everyone to deal with the trauma of cancer. Everyone wants to support their loved ones but few know how. Hopefully after reading about my journey through the cancer process, it will be easier for you to navigate through yours with fewer unknowns.