Unseen Challenges of Cancer Care

Going through cancer care is hard. There are many challenges facing cancer patients, and most of their challenges are unseen.

In this article, I will present just a few of the unseen challenges of cancer care. I say just a few because there are so many challenges, and challenges are different for each cancer patient.

I have divided the challenges into six categories that are in no particular order.

Unseen Challenges of Medications:

One of the first thoughts that come to mind when you think of cancer treatments is chemotherapy, so let’s start there.

Chemotherapy can be delivered in several different forms. (Read:Lifting the Mask of Chemotherapy )

Common challenges presented by chemotherapy include:

·         Nausea

·         Fatigue

·         Dry mouth

·         Weakness

·         Hair loss

One side effect of chemotherapy is brain fog. Not everyone gets brain fog and some get it worse than others. This foggy brain sensation makes it difficult for some people to remember or even make good decisions. This unseen challenge can be frustrating when other folks can’t understand why you can’t remember something they just told you.

Other cancer medications include hormone-regulating medications. These medications are often used for cancers that are fed by a hormone source, such as breast cancer. These medications have side effects such as hot flashes, bone weakening, and joint pain, among others.

Another unseen challenge from chemotherapy can be hearing loss. It is good to get your hearing checked when you finish with chemo.

Other unseen challenges of medication include learning bout any new medication you must take, learning which side effects are troublesome for you, and sometimes just remembering to take your meds.

Unseen Challenges of Lifestyle:

This category could go on and on, so I will present just a few highlights to consider.

Getting dressed in the morning used to be a routine matter. But since you have had cancer, there is more thought that goes into your clothing selection these days.

For example, if you had skin cancer, you now need to wear long sleeves and pants to protect your skin from the sun’s rays. Perhaps, even purchase sun-repelling clothing.

If you now have a prosthesis from cancer surgery, you need to find garments that accommodate any challenges your prosthesis presents.

And speaking of prostheses, yes, we can see that you have them on, but we can’t see the challenges it took for you to learn to use this new device.

Or if you have an ostomy because of intestinal or bladder cancer, you will probably wear looser garments across your mid-section to allow for expansion of the ostomy pouch.

Just as we can’t see the challenges it took for a person to learn how to use their prosthesis, you have challenges of your own with an ostomy. You must carry supplies with you to care for your ostomy, you know where every bathroom is, especially those that are single occupancy for privacy. And the worry you face that you might have a “blowout” is especially unnerving for you, but we don’t see that challenge that you face daily.

Another unseen lifestyle challenge is edema which can come because of cancer treatments. The swelling may be from edema or lymphedema. To overcome this side effect of treatment you may need to wear compression garments such as a sleeve or stockings, depending on where the edema is.

Unseen Challenges of Finances:

Unfortunately, cancer care is not cheap. You are already facing daily challenges in providing for your family, and now you have the added burden of paying for cancer treatment. There is some assistance you may be able to get, so talk with your financial counselor at your cancer clinic.

But there are other unseen financial challenges not directly connected to paying for your cancer treatments.

One challenge you may face is the amount of time you need to be away from work. Do you have vacation time to cover your time off? Do you have any kind of a side job to help bring in more money?

I was off work for almost a full year while I was going through breast cancer treatments. I had just a few weeks to get back to work or my employer was not obligated to hold my job after that.

The catch was that I had to find a new job to do in the hospital because my oncologist did not want me to go back to bedside nursing. (Read: The Day I Met Cancer in the Mirror). He wanted me to get a “desk” job. I had always done bedside nursing and I loved it. But now I sit at a desk all day long talking to patients on the phone. While I am grateful to have my job, I miss talking with patients and their family members and teaching them at the bedside while I provided their care.

Unseen Challenges of Mood and Emotions:

Your family and friends are aware that you are going through cancer treatments, but they may not realize how lonely and isolated you might be feeling. You don’t have the physical strength it takes to go on the family outing, so you stay at home and miss out on the fun that the others are having. Or your immunities have dropped to a level that makes it unsafe for you to socialize.

Another unseen challenge of emotions happens when you must ask others to help you do things that you so wish you could do for yourself. I had become so weakened after my surgery that I had to have my husband help me pull my T-shirt over my head. My friends and family were unaware of this unseen challenge.

And to top it all off, the very treatments that you took to cure you of cancer can themselves lead to other cancers. This unseen challenge of your emotions is present each time you feel a new lump, bump, or pain you hadn’t felt before.

Unseen Challenges of Physical Nature:

As cancer patients, we are told what the treatments will do, but until we actually experience the side effects, we can’t fully comprehend the information we were given.

One unseen challenge of a physical nature is the way food tastes while on chemotherapy. Because of the effects on the taste buds, even our favorite dishes don’t taste good right now. One potential complication of this is the tendency to avoid food, only to become even weaker from lack of nutrition.

Add to the poor taste of food are the sores you may get in your mouth which makes eating that much more of a challenge. I found cold, soft foods easiest to tolerate during that phase of my treatment. Not everything was tasty, but it was easier to eat.

Another unseen challenge of a physical nature is the potential for injury from falls due to weakness. With your muscles being weak from cancer treatments and lack of exercise, the risk for falls is increased.

At one point near the end of my chemotherapy treatments, I was walking across the room in my house. Somehow my foot caught causing me to stumble and fall. I ended up with a large hematoma on my lower leg that took weeks to heal.

If you find yourself at risk for falls, you may want to consider getting a monitoring service that can call for help if you should fall. Some cell phones have a similar feature now.

One way to prevent falls in the first place may be to make some home modifications for your safety. When my mom was going through chemotherapy (Read: The Day Cancer Turned Pink), she needed to use a walker for balance. The hallway in her house was rather long, and the light switch was about halfway down the hallway. My husband installed a motion sensor that turned the light on before she even reached the switch.

Unseen Challenges of body image:

Some unseen challenges of body image are…well a lot of things.

What kind of cancer did you have? Do you have visible physical changes? Just because the physical changes are obvious to anyone who looks at you doesn’t mean that they understand the challenges you are going through.

For instance, yes, they can see that you have lost your hair from chemotherapy, but they don’t realize that you feel every breeze that blows across your bald head.

And yes, they see the scars left behind from your surgery, but no one can see the courage it took for you to go through the surgery in the first place.

We see you using a walker or a powered scooter or a wheelchair, but we do not know the unseen challenges you face to allow yourself to be seen in this way.

There are many unseen challenges in cancer care. I have no way of knowing all the unseen challenges you face day in and day out, but I applaud you for facing those challenges. Going through cancer is hard work. We salute you for your dedication to yourself, your family, and your supporters to face these unseen challenges for us to have the privilege of you in our lives.

Wishing you all the best,

Kelly

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Yes, I am a nurse. No, I am not your nurse. The medical topics discussed in this, or any article on this site, are intended to be issues for you to discuss with your medical team if you feel they apply to you. None of the information you are about to read in this article is treatment advice for you from me. I do not have that authority.