Monday 28 January 2013

Cancer and depression

We all feel a little down from time to time, especially when we are going through something like cancer. But when does it cross the line from being a bit down to being depressed; and what can you do about it?
Depression  can affect your ability to cope with simple, everyday things such as sleeping, hygiene, eating, social activities and work.
If you are depressed, it’s impossible to simply "get over it". Well meaning family members or friends will often use this phrase and it's often difficult for people around you to understand how you feel.. Unless someone has been depressed themselves, it is almost impossible for them to understand what it feels like.

Depression is said to be the least noticed symptom in people with cancer. Yet it can be one of the hardest  to cope with. GP's and cancer specalists are getting better at recognising and treating depression in people with cancer. But there is still a lot more significant research to be done.
According to CRUK, almost 60% of people with cancer will get depressed. It may happen soon after you are diagnosed, but it is also quite normal to become depressed after finishing  treatment.

Depression can be triggered by a  number of things. The impact of being diagnosed with cancer is enough to trigger a depressive illness in some people. Changes in hormone levels may contribute to depression in some people so the fact that most of us will have gone into surgical menopause after a total hysterectomy is also a factor.

Also once treatment has ended and you are no longer being seen frequently by your medical team you can sometimes feel lonely and isolated. You no longer have the security of having people looking after you and this can sometimes trigger depression.

It is important to remember that depression is not a sign of  failure or an inability to cope. Never feel guilty about feeling depressed or not feeling positive all the time. It can usually be treated successfully and the  first step to feeling better is finding appropriate help.
Speak to your GP, who may prescribe an antidepressant to help you. They can take some time before you feel any benefit but you should start to feel some improvement after a couple of weeks. There are different types of antidepressants, and your doctors may need to try more than one to find the type that suits you best.

If you’re very depressed, your GP may refer you to a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist.

Macmillan have a very good section on their website about depression and remember that you can always contact them for help and advice. http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Cancerinformation/Livingwithandaftercancer/Emotionaleffects/Depression.aspx

 Remember, you are not alone and you don't have to go through depression on your own. Never be afraid to ask for help.





Friday 18 January 2013

Win at all costs?

So Lance Armstrong has finally admitted to being a cheat. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/21066354

The thing is, the people that he's really cheated, as far as I am concerned, are the millions of cancer patients who read his books and believed in him.

He says that his battle with cancer gave him a "win at all costs" attitude. Well, most of us have that when we've been given a diagnosis of cancer. But we don't turn into lying, cheating cowards!

Because thats what I think he is, a coward.

He was scared of dying and couldn't admit it to himself. I read his books and what struck me was his attitude to having cancer. Most of us have this "I'm going to fight this and I'm going to win" attitude but it seemed to go far beyond that with Armstrong.

Looking at all the news reports today about his interview with Oprah Winfrey, its all about how he's ruined the sport; ruined the reputation of "sportsmanship"; bought cycling into disripute! Its all about money, success, ego.

I can't find much about how the millions of cancer patients feel about being let down by someone they believed in. Someone who gave them hope.

http://www.freep.com/usatoday/article/1842777&usatref=sportsmod?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CSports%7Cp

The Doctor who treated him says that "his legacy is going to be his legacy as a cancer survivor and what he's meant to the cancer community.''

Really? I'm not so sure! With all the calls for him to be tried in a court of law and sent to prison - its obvious that most people (maybe those who havn't had a cancer diagnosis!!) feel differently.

But I guess what it really boils down to is this. We live in a society that worships success. We want winners! Doing your very best and not coming first isn't good enough!

The people calling him a cheat are probably the very same ones who think its ok fot their teams top striker to take a dive in the penalty area to score the winning goal.

I guess as always we need to look at the bigger picture. Without his Tour de France wins there would bever have been the Livestrong Foundation. This has helped many hundreds, thousands of people with cancer. Despite the admission from Armstrong of having taken performance enhancing drugs during his racing career, the Foundation will continue to help cancer patients around the world - and in the end, thats all that really matters as far as I am concerned.

Sunday 13 January 2013

Raising Awareness

Womb Cancer Support UK was set up back in April 2011 on Facebook as an online support group for women going through womb cancer.
It soon became clear that many of the women who joined the group had never heard of womb cancer before their diagnosis, myself included.

So bit by bit, we began to add awareness raising to our efforts and this took many forms.
During September 2011, we held out 1st Womb Cancer Awareness month, following the lead of our US peach sisters, who regard September as Uterine Awareness month.

We had a "Turn Facebook Peach" event where we asked people to change their profile pic to something peach for the month. Some of us held tea/coffee mornings in our own local area. I had a short article published in my local paper.

After the success of that first awareness campaign, we began to look at ways of doing more to raise awareness of womb cancer throughout the year and not just during September.

We had some leaflets printed that list some of the signs and symptoms to look out for and some of the women kindly agreed to distribute them at their local Health Centres, GP surgeries and Hospitals.

 
One of the best ways of raising awareness is to "come out" as a womb cancer survivor and a lot of the women in the group have done that by either wearing one of the peach wristbands or even getting a peach ribbon tattoo!

Its surprising the number of people who will ask about a wristband, especially if it's in a colour they don't recognise. I myself have been asked on numerous occasions why I wear mine!
Its often as ice breaker to a conversation and then you are able to do a bit of awareness raising which helps every woman out there!!


If you'd like a wristband (£1.50 each including p+p) then contact us via the FB page https://www.facebook.com/WombCancerSupportUK  or email us at wombcancersupportuk@hotmail.co.uk

Also, if you are able to take some of our leaflets to leave at your local Health Centre etc then again please contact us and we'll get some in the post to you.

Awareness raising, in whatever form it takes, is vital if we are to inform women of the signs and symptoms of womb cancer and help to stop the increase in the numbers of women being diagnosed.

Thank you. xx