Colorectal Cancer Patient Support
Anyone who is dealing with colorectal cancer faces a whole range of issues. Medical,
emotional, or financial aspects of your life can be affected. Here you’ll find support
for these daily life challenges.
Emotionally coping with colorectal cancer
If you have been diagnosed with colorectal cancer, coping with your disease will
require patience and determination. These may be new skills that you will develop.
If you are having trouble coping with your diagnosis, or if you have already undergone
treatment and still have strong emotions to deal with, you may need to surround
yourself with family, friends, and colleagues. You may also find it helpful to speak
with a therapist. This is the time to create a support
system of people who will nurture you and respect your feelings.
Coping with colorectal cancer means managing a number of personal, professional,
and financial demands and choices. Prioritize. Start from the simplest affirmation,
"If I can get through today, then I can get through tomorrow."
The manner in which you handle these challenges and any other major life events—can
be key to your well-being. Many of us are used to finding our way through a crisis
the best way we can.
Feeling confident about your ability to cope—to stand up for yourself and your needs—can
help you feel more in control, even in the midst of the fight. Even better, mastering
these skills may make you feel more hopeful!
Your family
As you go through treatment for your colorectal cancer, you may encounter unexpected
physical, emotional, and practical challenges, especially in your relationships
with your family. Your diagnosis may affect the lives of those closest to you.
Family matters
You may be greatly comforted knowing you have a healthy, supportive family. Your
loved ones can help you feel more hopeful and better prepared for the rigors of
treatment.
How you and your family cope with your colorectal cancer will be determined to a
great extent by how your family has functioned as a team in the past. Consider how
your family typically handles problems: Are you all comfortable sharing feelings?
Or do some family members tend to avoid talking about or handling serious issues
and emotions?
The ways in which your family perceives and accepts your colorectal cancer can have
a strong influence on everyone’s adjustment to the experience. All of your family
members—your spouse/partner, your parents, your children, your siblings—may be impacted
by the diagnosis at different times and in different ways. You also can expect their
roles, reactions, and responses to vary, which may cause difficulty in the way family
members interact as you all try to adjust. Please try
to remember that it is normal for you and your loved ones to feel frustrated and
lost. It may help if you can maintain your routine as much as possible. Part of
that routine may include setting goals and making plans.
It’s also important to let each person deal with the impact of your cancer in their
own way and to have personal time for themselves. Here are some suggestions for
helping your family:
- Talk and get feelings out in the open. Sharing feelings instead of hiding them can
free people to offer support and allow you all to focus on the issues behind the
feelings.
- Discourage false cheerfulness. This is a common response from well-meaning family
members who mistakenly believe they should cheer you up and keep you happy. Instead,
it may discourage you from talking about things that need to be said and keep you
from getting the emotional support you need from your family.
- Start the conversation. Everyone may be waiting for you to bring up the subject.
If it’s not easy for you to talk about your feelings, consider writing in a daily
journal.
- Keep a log to help stay organized. Keeping a log of things you need to do may help
to reduce stress, for you and your family. This log can make it easier to remember
appointments and medication schedules, too.
Please keep in mind that being able to recognize problems within your family is
an important first step to solving them. For many families who are trying without
success to feel better or change things, counseling may also be beneficial.
Learn how diet and nutrition
can help.
Important Safety Information
Anaphylactic-like reactions to ELOXATIN have been reported and may occur within
minutes of ELOXATIN administration. Epinephrine, corticosteroids, and antihistamines
have been employed to alleviate symptoms.
- Do not take ELOXATIN if you are allergic to any of the ingredients in ELOXATIN or
other medicines that contain platinum. Tell your doctor right away if you feel like
your throat is closing up, have shortness of breath, a flushed face, a rash, itching/hives,
swelling of lips or tongue, sudden cough, dizziness, sweating or chest pain.
- ELOXATIN can cause nerve problems. Tell your doctor right away if you become sensitive
to cold temperatures and cold objects; have trouble breathing, swallowing or saying
words; experience jaw tightness, odd feelings in your tongue, or chest pressure;
pain; tingling or burning in your hands, feet or around your mouth or throat.
- Tell your doctor if you develop a dry cough or have trouble breathing; these may
be signs of serious lung disease.
- ELOXATIN can cause liver problems (hepatotoxicity); your doctor will do blood tests
to watch for this.
- Because of the potential risk of fetal harm, pregnant women should not receive ELOXATIN.
Women of childbearing potential should avoid becoming pregnant while receiving ELOXATIN.
- ELOXATIN can cause a decrease in white blood cells, which can lead to infections.
Tell your doctor right away if develop any of the following signs of infection:
fever, chills, or shivering; cough that brings up mucus, burning or pain on urination,
pain on swallowing; sore throat; or redness or swelling at injection site.
- Other common side effects of ELOXATIN include a decrease in white blood cells, red
blood cells, and platelets, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and tiredness.
- Tell your doctor about all the medications you take, including prescription and
non-prescription medications, vitamins and herbal supplements.
Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go
away. These are not all the possible side effects of ELOXATIN. For more information,
ask your doctor or pharmacist.
Please
click here for full prescribing information including boxed WARNING.