The ongoing impact of cancer after treatment are often underestimated (Image: Getty) While “all clear” are the words every cancer patient wants to hear, for many it is only the first step on a long road of recovery, as the staff at Macmillan Cancer Support know all too well. “We find people often need just as much emotional support when they enter recovery as they did at diagnosis or during treatment,” says Rebecca Stead, Service Knowledge Specialist at Macmillan Cancer Support. “The aftermath impacts people in different ways.
Some wrongly believe they should feel lucky or relieved, celebrate ‘getting back to normal’ and focus on the future. However, we find survivors can feel isolated after treatment ends, when they don’t have that ‘bubble’ of healthcare and support. "Or they may be feeling guilty about the impact of their cancer on loved ones and compare themselves to patients with incurable cancer or those who have not survived.
Additionally, after treatment many worry the cancer may return.” Being unsettled in this way is known to trigger anxiety. Psychologist Simone Ruddick, who works with Perci Health, the UK’s first virtual cancer care clinic (percihealth.
com) says this is far from uncommon. “All people impacted by cancer will experience some level of anxiety,” she says. function loadOvpScript(){let el=document.
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