TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION: How a Psychologist Copes with His Own Cancer
• How a Psychologist
Coped with His Own Cancer
• Discovering My Cancer
• Finding a Doctor
• A Second, and a Third, Opinion
• Becoming an Active Patient
• Choosing Treatment
• Facing Surgery
• Fighting to Get Chemotherapy
• A Sense of Purpose Returns
• A Turning Point
• Meeting with the "What if" Voices
• The Road Back to Health
• Lessons Learned; Lessons to Share
CHAPTER 1: COPING WITH THE DIAGNOSIS
• The Initial Shock
• Deciding to See a Doctor
• Preparing to See a Doctor
• Do You Want to Know the Diagnosis?
• How the Diagnosis is Conveyed
• Know the Difference Between the Diagnosis and the Prognosis
• Coping with the Impact of the Diagnosis
• Changes in Self-Perception
CHAPTER 2: THE POWER OF YOUR BELIEFS
• The Power of Your Beliefs
• Why Consider Your Beliefs?
• The Meaning of “Cancer”
• Making Sense of Illness and Suffering
• Discovering Your Beliefs
• Illusion of Control
• How Do You Explain Suffering?
• Review Your Reactions to the Diagnosis
• New Ways of Thinking about Cancer
• Where Do I Go from Here?
CHAPTER 3: MAINTAINING A FIGHTING SPIRIT: WHAT YOU CAN DO
• How to Reduce Stress During a Stressful Time
• Five Actions to Make More Energy Available for Healing
• Expect a Surprise
• Replace Negative Reactions
• Nutrition: Feeding the Healthy Part of You
• Nutrition Research
• Expect a Positive Transformation
CHAPTER 4: MANAGING THE STRESS OF SERIOUS ILLNESS
• Understanding Stress––Your Survival Response
• The Power of Imagery
• Managing the Stress of Cancer: Physical Control
• Talking to Your Body Exercise
• Cognitive Control
• Five Steps to Integrate Physical and Cognitive Control Coping
Through Imagery
• Making Yourself Safe with You
• Rate Your Stress Level
CHAPTER 5: COPING WITH DEPRESSION AND HELPLESSNESS
• Cancer and Depression: Undertreated
• Should You Consider Medication?
• Physical Depression
• Depression: A Refusal to Mourn
• Three Contributors to Depression
• Coping with Depression in Four Steps
• Define the Problem as Something You Can Work On Now
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CHAPTER 6: BECOMING AN ACTIVE PATIENT
• You Are More Than Your Diagnosis
• The Patient Role: Mastery or Helplessness
• My Heart Attacked Me; My Cells Went Crazy
• Being a Good Patient May Not Be Good for You?
• Who Knows What's Best for You?
• Know Your Doctor’s Assumptions
• The Power of Choice
• The Patient as Expert
CHAPTER 7: YOU AND YOUR DOCTOR––Building
a Working Relationship
• How to Find a Good Doctor
• Understanding the Doctor-Patient Contract
• Realistic Trust or Blind Faith?
• Shared Responsibility, Shared Authority
• Medical Training and Emotions
• How to Take Charge of Your Medical Treatment
• Be Prepared to Ask Questions
• Take Me Seriously; Respect My Feelings
• Protecting Yourself from Pessimism
• The Misuse of Statistics
• Resources for Treating the Whole Patient: Nutritionist,
Psychosocial Support, the Nurse
CHAPTER 8: COMMUNICATION SKILLS: Staying Connected
• Communications with your Family
• Expressing a New Identity
• Choosing How to Communicate
• Speaking the Unspeakable
• What the Family Can Say
• Three Barriers to Communication
• Three Essential Skills: Framing, Active Listening,
Assertiveness
• Different Timetables
• Changes in Family Roles
CHAPTER 9: FULLY ALIVE AFTER CANCER – The
Transformative Power of Facing a Crisis
• The Essential Lesson
• Transformation––New Potential for Cancer
Patients
• The Power of Living in the Present
• The Centering Exercise
• Mourning the Loss, Releasing the Past, Accepting Your
Present
• Shifting Roles
• Changes in Relationships
CHAPTER 10: COPING WITH END OF LIFE ISSUES
• A Change in the Patient’s Role
• Preparing for Your Final Days
• Deciding on Terminal Care: Hospice: Care
• The Family’s Dilemma
• Pain Control and Symptom Relief
• Grieving, Guilt, Honesty
• Enhancing the Quality of Life
• Helping Your Family Let Go
APPENDICES:
• A. Resources: Links to Cancer Information
• B. Reviewing Your Reactions to the Diagnosis
• C. Patient and Family Bill of Rights
BIBLIOGRAPHY |
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