Coping With Cancer

I have started this because my wife came down with Breast Cancer several years ago. Today she is doing fine and shows no signs for the cancer returning.

People diagnosed with cancer and their families face many challenges that may leave them feeling overwhelmed, afraid, and alone. It can be difficult to cope with these challenges or to talk to even the most supportive family members and friends. Often, support groups like this one "Coping With Cancer" can help people affected by cancer feel less alone and can improve their ability to deal with the uncertainties and challenges that cancer brings. Support groups give people who are affected by similar diseases an opportunity to meet and discuss ways to cope with the illness.

1. How can support groups help?

   People who have been diagnosed with cancer sometimes find they need assistance coping with the emotional as well as the practical aspects of their disease. In fact, attention to the emotional burden of cancer is sometimes part of a patient's treatment plan. Cancer support groups are designed to provide a confidential atmosphere where cancer patients or cancer survivors can discuss the challenges that accompany the illness with others who may have experienced the same challenges. For example, people gather to discuss the emotional needs created by cancer, to exchange information about their disease-including practical problems such as managing side effects or returning to work after treatment-and to share their feelings. Support groups have helped thousands of people cope with these and similar situations.

   Can family members and friends participate in support groups?

   Family and friends are affected when cancer touches someone they love, and they may need help in dealing with stresses such as family disruptions, financial worries, and changing roles within relationships. To help meet these needs, some support groups are designed just for family members of people diagnosed with cancer; other groups encourage families and friends to participate along with the cancer patient or cancer survivor.

   What is Cancer

   What Is Cancer

   Cancer is cells growing out of control

   There are many types of cancer. As with all cancers, affected cells in the body change and grow out of control.

   • Usually, the multiplying cancer cells form a lump called a tumor
   • Not all tumors are cancerous. Tumors that are not cancerous are called benign tumors. Cells from benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body
   • Cancerous tumors are called malignant tumors. Sometimes malignant tumor cells can break away from the original, primary tumor and travel through the bloodstream or lymphatic system to other parts of the body. This process is called metastasis (pronounced muh-TASS-tuh-sis)
   • Cancer is usually named after the part of the body where it first develops: the primary site. Breast cancer begins in the breast tissue. If it spreads to the lungs, for example, it is still considered breast cancer, not lung cancer

   Defining recurrence

   Recurrence is the term used to describe the return of cancer following primary treatment, either at the same site as the original tumor or somewhere else in the body. Breast cancer can recur in the following ways:

   • Local breast cancer recurrence occurs in the breast where the cancer first started, or in the skin and underlying tissues where the breast used to be. This type of recurrence can happen even if you've had a mastectomy. In the soft tissues of the chest, cancer can grow from breast cancer cells close to the skin or behind the breast area, against the muscle of the chest wall. This type of local recurrence is called a chest wall recurrence
   • Regional breast cancer recurrence occurs in the lymph nodes near the affected breast. These "regional" lymph nodes include nodes found under the arm (axillary nodes) and those in the chest wall, such as those under the breastbone or under the pectoral muscle at the front of the chest. With regional recurrence, the cancer grows from cells that were present but undetectable at the time of the original surgery, or from cells that recurred in the breast and then later spread to lymph nodes
   • Metastatic breast cancer recurrence occurs in other parts of the body, such as lymph nodes at the base of the neck, or in the lung, liver, bone, or brain

   Cancer Bill Of Rights

When Someone In Your Family Has Cancer - Part 1