How Do You Deal with the Stress of a Cancer Diagnosis?

A cancer diagnosis is one of the most life-changing things an individual can go through. But how does one cope with the stress that comes with a diagnosis? CURE^® recently asked the members of its social media audience to share their tips and tricks for dealing with the pressure of receiving a diagnosis. Here are some of their responses:

“It has not been just one thing but many that have helped — the most important being my ever-growing faith in taking life one day at time!” — JB

“Loving yourself and having fun.” — DS

“Adrenaline took over for four years. Now 10 years post-cancer diagnosis of my 6-year-old, I’m dealing with it through counselors and psychiatry.” — AS

“I had stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma. My church family, friends, and neighbors were praying for me … I also tried to stay positive as my son had cancer at the same time as I did. I’m sad to say I lost him, but I know where God has him. In May, I will be a 10-year survivor, praise the Lord.” — JL

“Journaling and prayer.” — MS

“I got into a routine, talked with my husband, walked, rested and took care of myself.” — WS

“I have hope.” — DJ

“Try to divide and conquer. It’s extremely difficult though ... seems every day presents a new challenge. The illness is just one small piece.” — MGT

“I had a strong inner circle … fed my brain and listened, too. I kept a notebook daily and listed what I was grateful for, all positive things or quotes I liked as well, and I wrote daily. And now I am cancer free.” — RC

“Faith, family and friends!” — CH

“I rode the roller coaster up and down every day. Whatever you do, don’t give up. It actually made me a stronger person, although I still suffer every day.” — AB

“Not well.” — MMM

“Arm yourself with information, exercise, rest, sleep, and eat healthy as you can on a schedule!” — PB

“Meditation has helped greatly. I use the Calm app and just love it!” — KKH

“Every person is different. I buried feelings deep inside and faced one day at a time after getting the news I had aggressive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. After completing chemo and hearing that I was in remission, I breathed easier — then got news of prostate cancer. So, I’m digging deeper.” — JM

“After the initial shock, I got so angry at this disease. Then I started to do my due diligence and acted accordingly.” — CF

“Praying and meditation.” — EF

“Family support! You will forever be changed.” — ST

“Keeping a positive attitude for the most part. Focused on how to cure the problem, not add to it, by too much worry. Funny, but I seemed to stress more after (I was) done with treatments. I’m trying to exercise more these days, too.” — MM

“Got every book on the subject from our local library. Wrote questions for further discussion … Learned as much as I could.” — JR

“Faith in God was foremost, and the love and presence of family and friends were invaluable. I also had the gift of having an Imerman Angels mentor who had been diagnosed with the same cancer. He was a beacon of hope every day and someone I could talk with who totally understood what was in my head!” — CVS

“One day at a time. Don’t get ahead of yourself.” — NW

“Exercise got me through surgery, chemo and radiation three times. Focus on things you can do and pick something special to shoot for when you finish treatment.” — KR

“Doing my normal routine as much as possible.” — KP