A cancer diagnosis can bring strong feelings to the surface, from fear and anxiety to sadness and loneliness, but talking about the disease with loved ones is one way to process those emotions.
Dispelling the myth that we don't need to talk about cancer is one of the goals of Tuesday's World Cancer Day. Canadian Cancer Society Cancer Connection program co-ordinator Sheila Craigie said significant progress has already been made in this country.
"I can remember in my lifetime when people were diagnosed and you didn't talk about it at all and the word wasn't used," Craigie said. "Nowadays many people who are diagnosed put it out there and tell everyone they know."
According to the Union for International Cancer Control, talking about cancer is still difficult in some cultures. Craigie said when that was the case in Canada, it led to increased fear and even shame from patients who didn't have an outlet to express their feelings.
Now with programs like Cancer Connection, which matches patients up with people who have gone through treatment for the same cancer they are facing, people have many places to reach out to vent their emotions or seek reassurance.
By speaking with other survivors of the same form of cancer, Craigie said patients can feel more comfortable about the treatment journey they're about to embark on and provide hope for the future.
For some patients, Craigie said talking to family members can be especially challenging because they don't want to add to the burden that their relatives are already dealing with.
Craigie said it's important for people to determine for themselves who they feel comfortable talking to about their diagnosis and how much information they're willing to share.
"Some people do choose to keep it to themselves or they may tell just a few people who are very close to them," she said. "Other people will literally tell the people in the shop where they buy their groceries and everywhere in between."
Cancer Connection also gives loved ones of patients a chance to speak to other caregivers about what it's like to look after and support someone who is battling cancer. Craigie said it's important for caregivers to be calm and accepting of what the cancer patient has to say and to understand their own limitations when it comes to those difficult conversations.
"It's likely that your loved one might be expressing very strong fear and strong emotion," she said. "It's enough just to be with them and listen to them and understand that's a normal thing for them to feel. Not trying to fix it, not trying to make it go away, but just being with them as they express that can be very, very helpful."
Other myths World Cancer Day hopes to dispel are that there are no signs of cancer, there is nothing that can be done about cancer and that everyone has the right to cancer care.
