Coping with Advanced Cancer

The National Institutes of Health Publication 12-0856, Coping With Advanced Cancer: Support for People with Cancer, provides information for patients with end-stage cancer and discusses treatment options such as palliative care, clinical trials, hospice care, and home care, as well as symptom control. It addresses emotional concerns, communicating with friends and family, and living life to its fullest and with meaning. You've struggled with the diagnosis, treatment, and maybe the recurrence of cancer. Now doctors may have told you that you have advanced cancer. They may have said that your cancer is not responding to treatment and that long-term remission is no longer likely. Or they may have said they have run out of standard treatment options. However you learn the news, it can be devastating to you and your loved ones. Often it's hard to believe or accept at first. Having advanced cancer can bring anxiety and uncertainty to your life. But some people with advanced cancer live far longer than expected. And remember, you are still in control of your choices and actions. Having an advanced disease can be a time of personal growth. It can even be a time of second chances. Many people say they started to see life in a new way after learning that their cancer had progressed despite treatment. They realized the importance of making the most of each day. This booklet stresses four main points: Learning more about ways you can help yourself may ease some of your concerns; Your treatment may change, but as always, you deserve to ask for and receive good medical attention from your health care team and support from your caregivers; It's important to talk about your worries, frustrations, and problems, and get support from others. In fact, it may be one of the best things you can do for yourself; As your medical care changes, you still have many choices. You can choose the way you wish to live each day.