6 Ways to Cope With a Cancer Diagnosis

Dealing with a cancer diagnosis might be sending you through emotional turmoil. Your own activities might still be limited due to your diagnosis, but at the same time, you want to retain some agency over your own life while you undergo treatment. These tips from Lisa Hubbard Pilates can help you make empowering decisions in the midst of these uncertain times.

Benefits of Pilates

To help you feel confident and healthy as you undergo your cancer treatment, consider taking up Lisa Hubbard's Pilates workouts. These 30-minute workouts combine practices for Pilates, yoga, and dance. Used with music, these workouts invigorate the body as well as the spirit to help you feel your best during this challenging time.

Consider a Career Change

Maybe your manager at your current job has not been too receptive to making accommodations for you while you’re going through treatment. If you already started feeling unsatisfied with your job during the pandemic, you might want to look into self-employment. You’ll be able to set flexible hours and keep your workload manageable.

If self-employment sounds appealing to you, it’s a good idea to create a business plan. Write a brief description of your company and the services you plan to offer. You’ll also want to think about your business structure, your sales approach, any funding you might need, and how much money you could make. Once you’re ready to start a new company, reach out to a formation service. They can help walk you through all the major steps to get your business legally established. What’s more, they can save you money while doing it.

Once your business is up and running, you’ll want to find tools and technologies to meet your business needs without spending a lot. An invoice maker online is one such example. You can customize a template to your liking for free before downloading it to print and use. When you’re just starting out, not having to pay for invoices can amount to big savings.

Diet and Exercise

If you want to switch up your diet or start a regular fitness routine, it’s always important to check in with your care team first. They might have valuable suggestions for you. When it comes to diet and exercise, it’s a good idea to make small changes so that you can see how your body feels. You don’t want to push yourself too hard. If you’d like to exercise more often, MD Anderson recommends balancing aerobic exercise with strength-building workouts.

It’s a good idea to research home products such as kitchen tools or exercise equipment that can help you out and make things easier at home. To ensure you’re getting good value, seek out unbiased reviews online. You don’t want to make a big purchase on something that won’t meet your needs.

Find a New Hobby

You might feel like you haven’t had much time for your favorite hobbies and activities since starting treatment. Maybe you already had to give up some hobbies that you loved for a long stretch of time because of the pandemic, and now, you need to find new ways to occupy your time. If you’re going through chemotherapy, you can turn to some engaging activities to pass the time, like reading books, knitting or crocheting, listening to audiobooks or podcasts, or writing in a journal.

Reconnect With Friends

Throughout the pandemic, you may have had very limited opportunities to socialize — and now that you’re going through treatment, you might have conflicting feelings about getting together with friends in person. In order to stay connected with your friends, or reconnect with friends you’ve lost touch with, you might want to schedule video chats, ask them to stop by for an outdoor gathering, or even send each other letters. There are all sorts of creative ways to keep in touch, and getting a note from one of your loved ones can turn your mood around on a rough day.

Explore Your Creativity

When you’re going through a difficult period in life, you need to express your emotions in some way rather than bottling them up. Of course, talking to your loved ones about your feelings is important, but sometimes, you might benefit from channeling these complicated emotions into art. If you’re interested in picking up a creative hobby, Creative Bloq recommends photography, digital art, or even gardening — tending to your garden can be deeply fulfilling!

Living with a cancer diagnosis can make you question your lifestyle choices, your daily routines, and your priorities. Feeling motivated to make changes is normal — and you might be surprised by how these choices improve your quality of life, even when times are tough. With these suggestions, you’ll be prepared to move forward after your diagnosis.