COUNSELING FOR CANCER PATIENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES IN DENVER METRO AND ONLINE ACROSS COLORADO
Specialized support to help you and your family face the unique psychological challenges of cancer.
Sound like you?
When you receive a diagnosis of cancer, your whole life changes in an instant.
The fear and anxiety you are feeling is understandable and real.
I’m here for you.
After the initial shock of your diagnosis, you are left with a ton of questions. What now? What will my treatment plan be? What is my life going to look like? How am I going to cope with my diagnosis? What will this mean for my family? As you are struggling to process all of the information, you are always waiting for the next appointment, trying to piece together your treatment.
Or maybe you are done with active treatment, and are left with the aftermath of cancer. The fear and anxiety can still be there. Will it come back? Where do I go from here? How do I move forward? You might also be living with cancer as a chronic health condition and struggling with the life changes that managing cancer long-term can bring.
Being a caregiver or family member for a loved one with cancer can also come with its challenges. Even though you are not diagnosed with cancer, you might be having similar struggles of fear, anxiety, being overwhelmed, and worries for the future. Your responsibilities may have increased if you are caregiving for your loved one, or you might have increased childcare responsibilities with your family member going through their treatment. While caregiving can be the ultimate gift, it can come with some personal difficulties. How can I be there for my loved one while still managing my own struggles and life?
The diagnosis of cancer can also send shock waves throughout other aspects of your life such as your family, friends, career, and finances. You find yourself receiving well wishes, messages, and calls. Your support people want to help, but many don’t or can’t understand. And then there is the meal train, you appreciate the kindness people are offering, but then you feel badly for imposing on others. If you have young kids, you find yourself needing to care for yourself while needing to support your kids. You are already feeling stressed, and managing everyone else’s feelings can leave you even more overwhelmed.
How I can help
While cancer can feel like an isolating and scary journey, you don’t have to go through it alone.
Individual and Family Counseling: Personalized to address you or your family’s unique life through cancer treatment and survivorship.
I am Erica, I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and I am a Cancer Survivor. I also was a support person for a friend’s cancer battle. With a diagnosis as life changing as cancer, there is value in a therapist that has walked a similar path and has lived experience as both a patient and a support person. While every individual and family’s path is a little different, there can be many commonalities in a cancer journey.
I work with clients and families who like to work collaboratively, with our sessions tailored to your unique needs or challenges. Cancer affects every person differently, and my goal is to structure therapy in a way that is most helpful to you and/or your family. While I am happy to suggest goals, ultimately, you decide what things you would like to address in therapy. An important component of working together is making sure therapy is a comfortable space for you so that you can get the most out of sessions. My goal is to develop an understanding, authentic, and safe place for us to work together to best meet you where you are at in your cancer journey.
At the start of therapy, we will take the time to get to know each other and set goals together. I am happy to work either individually or with family therapy, both with the person diagnosed with cancer, or with a caregiver/family member. We'll begin by exploring how the diagnosis is affecting you or your loved ones, work on developing more effective coping strategies, and ultimately help you move towards a feeling better.
Through our sessions, we will also work on skills to help with specific symptoms or problem areas. In the end, the goal is for you to feel confident, develop clarity, and have the skills to best manage cancer.
Here’s what we’ll do together
While cancer can feel like an isolating and scary journey, you don’t have to go through it alone.
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What we’ll work on
Therapy for Individuals and Families affected by cancer can help you…
Manage Physical Challenges of Cancer
Process Healthcare Decisions and Better Advocate for Yourself or Your Loved One
Work Through Emotional Struggles of a Diagnosis, Treatment, and Survivorship
Be Supported and Feel More in Control of Your Cancer Journey
Develop Resilience and Strength to be Your Best Self and Learn to Move Forward
Be the Healthiest Caregiver or Family Member to Your Loved One
Find Meaning in the Cancer Journey
Questions? I’ve got answers.
Frequently asked questions —
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Counseling for cancer is meant to support individuals diagnosed with cancer and their loved ones in navigating the emotional, psychological, physical, and social challenges associated with the illness. Therapy for cancer can help in any part of the cancer journey, from initial diagnosis, to treatment, end-of-life care, or survivorship. The primary goal is to provide a safe and supportive place to address the emotional needs, develop coping strategies, and enhance the mental well-being of both individuals diagnosed with cancer and their families.
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Receiving and living with a cancer diagnosis can bring about a range of feelings and emotions, often changing from day to day, or even minute to minute. You might find yourself struggling with…(Accordions)
Fear and Anxiety: A cancer diagnosis can elicit a great deal of fear and anxiety. You might feel intense fear and anxiety about the future, upcoming treatment, prognosis, and the possibility of pain. You might also find yourself worrying about how your diagnosis will affect your family. Once you have completed treatment, you still are left with constant worry. Will it come back? Will it spread?
Depression: Feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and despair are very common with a cancer diagnosis, both during treatment and afterwards. Dealing with a long term illness can lead to feelings of depression, affecting mood, energy levels, sleep, and overall outlook on life.
Being Overwhelmed: Managing cancer is A LOT. There are often a lot of decisions, treatments, and doctors associated with your care, and the unpredictable nature of cancer progression and treatment outcomes can create ongoing uncertainty and stress.
Anger and Frustration: Why me? Why now? It is common to feel anger when being diagnosed with cancer. You might struggle with feelings of unfairness, frustration, and rage with your illness and its potential impact on your life.
Loss of Control: Cancer can bring about feelings of a lack of control over your body and life. You are now putting your faith into your doctors and medical team. The unpredictability of cancer and its treatment can lead to a sense of helplessness and loss of autonomy.
Social Isolation: Cancer can make you feel very isolated and disconnected from others. The physical and emotional toll of cancer can lead you to withdraw from social activities increasing feelings of loneliness. It is also hard to find support because well-meaning friends and family may not truly understand your struggles.
Body Image Issues: Cancer can bring about a lot of feelings related to body image. You might find yourself having concerns about changes in appearance and physical abilities. Treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation can alter your body, leading to self-consciousness and discomfort about body image.
Guilt and Self-Blame: You might struggle with feelings of guilt or responsibility for your illness. Like cancer is somehow your fault. Some people blame themselves for their cancer, feeling guilty about lifestyle choices or other perceived causes.
Body Image Issues: Cancer can bring about a lot of feelings related to body image. You might find yourself having concerns about changes in appearance and physical abilities. Treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation can alter your body, leading to self-consciousness and discomfort about body image.Guilt and Self-Blame: You might struggle with feelings of guilt or responsibility for your illness. Like cancer is somehow your fault. Some people blame themselves for their cancer, feeling guilty about lifestyle choices or other perceived causes.
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Cancer doesn’t only affect the individual diagnosed; it also impacts family and friends. Therapy can help you in working through your own thoughts and feelings about a loved one’s diagnosis, as well as work to better manage your own needs, boundaries, and emotions. You might find yourself feeling…(Accordions)
Emotional Exhaustion: The continuous demands of caregiving can lead to emotional exhaustion, where caregivers feel they have no energy left to cope with additional stress. You feel like you are constantly “on,” which can leave you feeling drained and overwhelmed. Caregiving can lead to feeling like you have little bandwidth for anything else.
Anxiety and Stress: Caregivers and family members often struggle with persistent worry and stress about your loved one’s health, treatment, appointments, and their own ability to provide adequate care.
Depression: Cancer stinks. The emotional toll of caregiving, combined with witnessing a loved one’s suffering, can lead to depression in family and supports. You might find yourself struggling with feelings of sadness and hopelessness.
Guilt and Self-Blame: Family members and support people can struggle with feelings of guilt. Caregiving can be a very stressful role, and you want to help as much as possible. Sometimes, you need a break. Caregivers may blame themselves for not being able to do more, or they might feel guilty for needing time away from caregiving duties.
Social Isolation: Withdrawal from social interactions can happen with caregivers. The demands of caregiving can limit time and energy for social activities, leading to feelings of isolation and loneliness.
Role Strain: Balancing multiple roles and responsibilities can be common. Caregivers often juggle caregiving with work, family, and personal responsibilities, leading to role strain and difficulty managing all tasks effectively.
Uncertainty and Fear of the Future: Fear about the patient’s prognosis and the future is natural and expected in families of a person battling cancer. The unpredictable nature of cancer progression and treatment outcomes can lead to ongoing uncertainty and fear for caregivers.
Grief and Loss: Anticipatory grief and feelings of loss can also happen in families. Caregivers may experience grief not only for the potential loss of their loved one, but also for the loss of their previous life and routines.
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While not a substitute for medical interventions, therapy can help you better manage some of the symptoms and side effects of cancer. Therapy can provide strategies and tools that can help you cope with your physical symptoms. Also getting support for your side effects will help you feel that you have some control over the mental and physical aspects of symptom management.
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Yes!! Sometimes you are so focused on getting through treatment, that you don’t find yourself struggling until treatment has been completed. You might look back and think, “Whoa! What just happened to me?” Moving on from cancer can be difficult. Therapy can help you work through your feelings about your diagnosis and develop resilience in moving forward.