The fear of relapse after cancer is a complex and sometimes difficult reality to live with.
- Relapse anxiety can accompany a cancer survivor throughout their life.
- To manage this fear, it is essential to have good medical and family support.
- It is also crucial to improve your quality of life after illness.
Surviving a serious illness like cancer confronts you with a reality: the fear of relapse. This persistent anxiety can accompany the person throughout their life, even when medical tests show positive results. However, with good medical, family and professional support, it is possible to manage it better.
The roots of fear of relapse
The roots of the fear of relapse after cancer are multiple and are often linked to a loss of control over one’s own body. The physical and emotional trauma from treatment, coupled with uncertainty about the future, leaves physical and psychological scars that can persist long after remission.
Although survival rates have increased over the years, the fear of pain and loss of “normalcy” can make any suspicious signs of relapse particularly distressing. Follow-up medical visits, while necessary, are also constant reminders of this uncertainty. Every appointment is an opportunity to worry about the results and the possibility of relapse.
How to face your fear?
Learning to manage your fear of relapse is crucial to improving your quality of life after cancer, it is important to:
• Follow medical advice: having confidence in your specialist doctor in charge of monitoring, as well as in his recommendations and examinations, allows you to avoid self-diagnosis and self-treatment and avoids fueling uncertainty and anxiety.
• Avoid non-expert opinions: Loved ones, while caring, can often intensify fears with their own opinions and experiences. It is best to turn to health professionals for reliable information.
• Express and accept your emotions: experiencing the emotions linked to fear of relapse is essential. Sharing them with a therapist or support group can help you understand and manage them more effectively.
Seeking a mental health professional is often necessary to overcome fear of relapse syndrome.
Find out more: “Post-cancer, a whole program!: Testimonials, support and practical solutions” by Gersende Bargine and Philippe Gourdin.
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