Surviving Cancer Emotionally Learning How to Heal

by Granet, Roger

• ISBN13: 9780471387411
• ISBN10: 047138741X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-10-01
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Inspiration and Information to Help You Cope With the Emotional Effects of Cancer Cancer changes our lives-physically and emotionally. The more you understand about your psychological reactions to cancer, the more effectively you can cope. In this powerful book, Dr. Roger Granet, a psychiatrist who specializes in the emotional side effects of cancer and its treatment, draws on two decades of experience as he explains what you can expect emotionally at each phase. Here's advice on: * Dealing with the diagnosis * Finding the coping style that's right for you * Handling the many demands of treatment * Knowing when to ask for help-and how to find it * Surviving and coming to terms with a different you * Handling the fear of recurrence Written with compassion and clarity, Surviving Cancer Emotionally reveals how we can cope with a devastating illness and turn it into a positive catalyst for embracing life. "Dr. Granet provides ways to help people heal emotionally as they cope with an illness that carries great fears with it. Patients and families will find this book a helpful companion as they undertake the cancer journey with all its twists and turns."-Jimmie Holland, M.D., Chairman, Department of Psychiatry, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center "Dr. Granet is a caring physician with a heart and soul, and an unusual gift for telling a story. This book should be read by anybody who has cancer, or who has a loved one with cancer."-Robert Michels, M.D., University Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry, Cornell University, and former Dean and Provost, Cornell University Medical College

Author Biography

ROGER GRANET, M.D., F.A.P.A., is a consulting psychiatrist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, a lecturer in psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and an attending physician at New York Presbyterian Hospital and Morristown Memorial Hospital. He maintains private practices in New York City and Morristown, New Jersey.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction	1	(6)
Part One: Cancer and Feelings
Understanding the Emotional and Physical Realities of Cancer	7	(14)
When Cells Go Awry	8	(3)
Where Feelings Come into Play	11	(3)
Emotional Reactions to Cancer	14	(7)
Coping: What Works, What Doesn't, and Why	21	(34)
Influence That Affect How Well You Cope	23	(3)
How Personality Type Affects Coping	26	(6)
How Emotional History Affects the Meaning of Cancer	32	(5)
Additional Factors That Affect the Ability to Cope	37	(3)
Typical Defense Mechanisms	40	(1)
Assessing the Effectiveness of Our Defense Mechanisms	41	(3)
The Many Ways to Cope Healthfully	44	(11)
Part Two: The Emotional Course of Cancer
One Crisis Ends, Another Begins	55	(14)
Is What I'm Feeling Normal?	55	(3)
The Course That Cancer Takes	58	(5)
Running the Course of Cancer---Emotionally and Physically	63	(6)
Coping with the Diagnosis	69	(24)
The Emotional Impact	69	(4)
Factors That Affect How You Adjust to the Diagnosis	73	(12)
Knowing When to Ask for Psychiatric Help	85	(3)
How to Find Help	88	(5)
Treatment's Many Demands	93	(28)
Surgery	94	(11)
Rediation	105	(4)
Standard Chemotherapy, Hormonal Therapy, and Immunotherapy	109	(7)
Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplantation	116	(5)
Survival: Returning to ``Normal''?	121	(20)
Shifting Gears as the Reality of Survivorship Takes Hold	122	(3)
Feeling Bad About Feeling Good	125	(1)
Coming to Terms with a Different You	125	(2)
Engaging in a New Life	127	(3)
The Fear of Recurrence---and the Resilience of the Human Spirit	130	(4)
When Death Is Inevitable: Journeying Toward Calm and Peace	134	(3)
Cancer's Good Fortune	137	(4)
Part Three: Special Considerations
The Emotional Disorders of Cancer and Their Treatment	141	(28)
Adjustment Disorder	142	(1)
Generalized Anxiety Disorder	142	(2)
Major Depression	144	(1)
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder	145	(2)
Panic Disorder	147	(2)
Phobia	149	(1)
Delirium	149	(1)
Organic Mood Disorder	150	(2)
Mild Neurocognitive Disorder	152	(1)
Substance Abuse	152	(2)
Underlying Disorders	154	(1)
The Talking Treatment: Psychotherapy	154	(6)
Talking Can Help	160	(1)
Medicines for the Mind	160	(9)
For Family and Friends	169	(18)
Second-Order Patients and Their Reactions	169	(6)
How to Support a Cancer Patient	175	(2)
The Special Needs of Caregivers	177	(3)
When the Death of a Loved One Is Inevitable	180	(7)
Cancer's Journey and Other Good Fortunes	187	(6)
Sources and Further Reading	193	(8)
Resources	201	(14)
Index	215