Depression and cancer?

Question

how can depression affect cancer patients? in which ways?

I am not doing homework...I am doing a research in cancer and English is not my first language..sorry :-)

Answer 1

Depression often accompanies a cancer diagnosis. Even the best of us can only keep our chins up and listen to "Everything happens for a reason" so many times! Losing ones hair, feeling not in control, being sick all or most of the time, having to depend on others - these all factor in.
I was diagnosed at 31 and did nearly a year of treatments. It throws your whole world upside down. Many breast cancer patients lose their spouses, also - I did. My husband suffered from depression and was bipolar (didn't find this out until after 12 1/2 yrs. of marriage). Shortly after I finished my treatments he left me for a younger woman whom he supposedly wanted to have children with (since I couldn't have anymore). Some patients lose their jobs, their chances of moving up in the company, etc. Financial strain for patients with little or no health insurance factors in. Constant worry about whether it will come back again (once you've gone through those treatments it's hard to think about doing it again, knowing how bad they were), if you will be around to see your kids graduate, get married, or meet your grandchildren are all things that we worry about. The constant exhaustion you often experience wears on you mentally as well as physically.
It is a much different beast than worrying if you will die in a car accident or get shot at the local convenience store. I had a hard time coming to terms with this. Now that I am 3 yrs. past my treatments I look at it differently than I did when I was going through it - but the worry is still there.

Answer 2

I am on an anti-depressant and am going on 3 years out of a breast cancer diagnosis.

The hardest part for me is that I was 29 when I was diagnosed, so I know that I have (hopefully) a lot of years to worry about the cancer coming back. I am trying to find that fine line of waiting for the other shoe to drop and getting on with my life. Now that I am on the meds, I have less anger issues, which is good, and overall I think I am doing better. Some days are worse than others, but another very hard thing is looking at my 2 1/2 year old and 4 year old daughters and praying to God I didn't pass cancer on to them. No wonder we get depressed, huh?

Answer 3

Depression can exist before a diagnosis of cancer but either way it's been established that depression and a positive attitude can affect health in very different ways. Depression takes the focus away from treating and coping with cancer. Depression may impact the course of treatment and a patient's ability to make decisions or participate in treatment. Treating depression makes people feel better and there is evidence that lessening depression can help enhance survival. If you stop and think about, you can imagine how depression would affect anyone who is ill.

There's something about the way your questions are worded that makes me think we're doing your homework for you.

Answer 4

Depression is treatable, so a cancer patient should seek treatment as soon as possible. With the proper antidepressants and other psychological interventions a cancer patient can learn how to cope with their cancer diagnosis. Social workers and support groups and medication if needed can help the patient learn to live again, no matter if that time is limited or not.

Answer 5

Oh boy, how can you not be depressed with that disease? It comes like the stages of death come and hopefully the person survives. i have a sister who survived years now after throat cancer and trial treatment at yale. We fought it together. It was **ll, for a full year. Moved in with her me, my daughter and husband. Took her to all appts and treatments and hospital and home care I did nutrition at home through IV to keep her home. She was depressed and I was too. It can't be helped because it is so overpowering. Takes over the whole lives of the family in the house and at times you feel like why am I doing this. But, then the sun shines and the music plays and you humm a tune and you want her to be better so you smile for her and you make it through to the other side. It's worth it all and I'd do it again If I were able. So, it comes with the territory and it just is what it is and you get through it.

Answer 6

Over the last five years I had begun to have increasingly withdraw into a downward spiral of depression..

But now with the method I can fully focus my energy and thoughts into a decisive line on how to make my life better constantly. And it works like magic! I'm beginning to attract people to me once again and things have just been looking up since then.

Helping you eliminate depression?

Answer 7

depression is a major factor in cancer... just imagine the burden we are putting on our family financially and mentally, and its all so that we can have a small window of oppertuity to live, think of it this way spend 8000 dollars every 2 weeks and not even know if your gonna make it to the next 2 weeks and is it all really worth it?

Answer 8

I have severe depression since a bout with cancer last year. It is unnerving to go constantly for checkups to see if the cancer has returned. I have even had one suicide attempt.

Answer 9

Depression lowers the immune system, as does stress, and pain. When the immune system is compromised, it allows infections to pop up.

Answer 10

Any illness cause depression. This seems to follow being sick. You worry over pain, money, how other people are doing etc.