For many Cancer Patients, they face a serious problem, when their cancer-related symptoms are always front-and-center in their life. Pain control or quality-of-life issues can make life miserable every minute of every day. You can read the original article here: “7 Things to Do When the Misery of Cancer Won’t End.” For these patients, there are 2 types of relief to seek, the first being physical and the second is psychological.
For physical relief, the first and more obvious issue would be pain control. Getting your physical pain under control is an important first step. Pain relief doesn’t necessarily mean pain-free, but taking your pain from intolerable to tolerable. Other physical relief includes both nutrition and sleep. Proper nutrition for cancer patients is essential and should be a priority. Anxiety, physical discomfort, pain, placement of a catheter, and many other reasons, can make getting adequate sleep very difficult. Talk to your doctor about getting the help you need to make sleep possible.
Psychological relief can include your environmental comfort, entertainment and fun, spirituality, and taking good care of and repairing your relationships. Environmental comfort could mean temporarily sleeping in a reclining chair while recovering with a catheter in place, or using a simple donut cushion while sitting. Entertainment and having fun can go along way during recovery. A 2011 study published online in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B found that laughter increased patients’ pain thresholds, probably due to increased production of endorphins- hormones that relieve pain. For some patients, embracing spirituality can bring about a sense of calm and peace. Cancer can be a reminder to live differently…a time to embrace personal relationships and possibly repair broken ones. Time to tell your family and friends how much you love and appreciate them.