Chemo can bring major changes to your life. It can affect your overall health, threaten your sense of well-being, disrupt your daily routines, and put a strain on your relationships. It is normal and understandable for you and your family to feel sad, anxious, angry, or depressed.

There are ways to cope with these emotional side effects, just as there are ways to cope with the physical side effects.

You can draw support from many sources. Here are some of the most important:

Doctors and nurses

If you have questions or worries about your cancer treatment, talk with members of your health care team.

Counseling professionals

Counselors can help you express, understand, and cope with the emotions cancer treatment can cause. Depending on what you want and need, you might want to talk with a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, sex therapist, or member of the clergy.

Friends and family

Talking with friends or family members can help you feel a lot better. Often, they can comfort and reassure you in ways that no one else can. But you may find that you have to make the first move. Many people do not understand cancer and may withdraw from you because they're afraid of your illness. Others may worry that they will upset you by saying the wrong thing.

You can help relieve these fears by talking openly with others about your illness, your treatment, your needs, and your feelings. You can correct mistaken ideas and let people know that there's no one "right" thing to say. Once people know they can talk with you honestly, they may be more willing and able to open up.

Support groups

Support groups are made up of people who are going through the same kinds of experiences you are. Many people with cancer find they can share thoughts and feelings with group members more easily than with anyone else. Support groups can also be an important source of practical information about living with cancer.

You can also find support in one-to-one programs that match you with a person like you in age, gender, type of cancer, and so forth. You might talk with this person on the phone or arrange visits.

Where to find information about support programs:

• your hospital's social work department

• your local American Cancer Society office or by calling us at 1-800-ACS-2345 (1-800-227-2345)

Last Medical Review: 08/28/2008
Last Revised: 09/11/2008