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Cancer impacts emotional as well as physical health.

Emotional distress, and especially depression, can dampen the effectiveness of physical interventions.

Getting information on emotional treatment options, therefore, is vital for successful cancer treatment.

When Josh first heard his doctor speak the dreaded word “cancer,” his first reaction was disbelief. “How could I have cancer? I’m in my early fifties, in great health, and have a great life!”

Unfortunately, before long, the reality of Josh’s illness struck him.

As Josh saw with increasing clarity the long road ahead of pain, suffering, and inability to enjoy the activities that for so many years had given him both pleasure and a sense of purpose, an intense wave of anxiety swept over him. Like a man standing on the edge of the shore who had been knocked over by an unexpected strong wave, Josh felt himself losing his emotional balance, overcome by dread and fright.

Next came the anger. “Why me?”

And then the strongest wave yet hit Josh, a wave of hopelessness and helplessness. Josh’s wife said to him, “You sound so depressed! That’s not like you!”

Josh........

© Psychology Today