Changes in mood
Authors:
Dr. Christine Maheu, RN, PhD ,
Ms. Rosemary Cashman ,
Kyla Johnson, Occupational Therapist, Segal Cancer Centre, Jewish General Hospital ,
Ms. Maureen Parkinson, Vocational Rehabilitation Counsellor, M.Ed. C.C.R.C, BC CancerDr. Christine Maheu, RN, PhD
Dr. Christine Maheu is an Associate Professor in the Ingram School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University. Dr. Maheu is also an Affiliate Scientist at the University Health Network and the University of Toronto. At McGill University, she teaches research methods, supervises graduate students (masters, doctoral, post-doctoral), mentors practicing nurses and students in research, and conducts research in English and French. She has held research awards with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Cancer Society, and the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. These awards funded her research in psychosocial oncology, which focuses on developing and testing psychosocial interventions or measurements tools for various cancer populations. Additionally, in partnership with Ipsos Canada and funded by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, she is co-leading a nationwide survey of the needs of cancer patients for transition care from the end of their treatment to three years after their diagnosis. Dr. Maheu received awards for excellence in nursing research (2013, 2015, 2016) from Ovarian Cancer Canada, the Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology, and the Quebec Association of Nurses in Oncology.
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Ms. Rosemary Cashman
Ms. Rosemary Cashman is a nurse practitioner at the BC Cancer Agency and an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of British Columbia. Her professional experience includes the care of lymphoma, lung cancer and brain cancer patients. She co-chairs the Patient and Family Advisory Council, which guides the brain tumour care program at the BC Cancer Agency. She has authored book chapters and articles related to the care of brain tumour patients and their families. Ms. Cashman was involved in developing and implementing a rapid-access radiotherapy clinic for the palliative treatment of lung cancer and she continues to work in this clinic.
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Kyla Johnson, Occupational Therapist, Segal Cancer Centre, Jewish General Hospital
Ms. Kyla Johnson, M.Sc.A., originally from Edmonton, Alberta, Kyla Johnson works as an Occupational Therapist at the Segal Cancer Center of the Jewish General Hospital. She holds a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from McGill University. Her goal as a rehabilitation professional in Oncology is to enable people with cancer to be able to do what they want and need to do, in all stages of their cancer experience. Kyla helps develop strategies and accommodations to facilitate a return to meaningful life roles, including work. She is specialized in cancer-related cognitive dysfunction and runs a weekly group teaching strategies to improve daily cognitive functioning. Kyla also leads a volunteer yoga class for young adults with cancer. She lives in Montreal, Quebec.
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Ms. Maureen Parkinson, Vocational Rehabilitation Counsellor, M.Ed. C.C.R.C, BC Cancer
Ms. Maureen Parkinson is the province-wide vocational rehabilitation counsellor at the BC Cancer Agency. She has also been vocational rehabilitation counsellor at a public rehabilitation hospital and vocational rehabilitation consultant to insurance companies and the court system. She has instructed and facilitated Service-Canada-funded programs on job searching and career exploration. Ms. Parkinson has a Masters in Counselling Psychology, is a Canadian Certified Rehabilitation Counsellor, and completed the Certified Return to Work Coordinator Program through the National Institute for Disability Management and Research. She has developed return-to-work and job-search seminars for cancer patients and created the guidebook “Cancer and Returning to Work: A Practical Guide for Cancer Patients” as well as on-line articles about returning to work and school. She also co-authored a paper commissioned by the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology, “Cancer and Work: A Canadian Perspective”.
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The strain of coping with your diagnosis and treatment may be compounded by other life stressors such as family dynamics, financial issues, and professional challenges. Unmanaged stress can have a negative effect on your health, including:
- increased blood pressure
- a more rapid heart rate
- decreased digestion
- increased muscle tension
- higher levels of stress hormones like adrenaline that can lead to impaired immune function
- difficulty sleeping
Vocational implications
For cancer survivors, returning to work may bring mixed emotions – Going back to work may be experienced as a relief that life is back to “normal,” or experience as fear and anxiety about how your colleagues will relate to you. There can be uncertainties about how you will manage your responsibilities or your feelings at work.
What you can do
Speak to your healthcare team for a discussion about your readiness to return to work and some advice about how to make decisions that are right for you.
- Speak to your healthcare team if you are noticing changes in your mood.
- Consider medications for depression or anxiety.
- Learn stress management strategies.
- Learn to say no.
- Delegate.
- Use breathing and relaxation techniques.
- Use Visualization and Guided Imagery techniques.
- Exercise.
- Seek diversion.
- Use a sense of humour when possible.
- Connect with nature.
See also other resources created under workplace wellbeing.
Other resources:
Job accommodations
Modify your work tasks and how you work:
- Identify non-essential job tasks and situations that may cause strong emotional or stress reactions.
- Can these tasks be re-assigned or shared with a co-worker?
- Explore ways of using stress management techniques before and while approaching tasks that cannot be modified.
- Identify supports that decrease your stress and discuss ways of incorporating these supports with your manager (for example, receiving written vs. verbal instruction, deadline extensions, more frequent breaks, work from home).
Modify your work environment:
- Create a soothing environment:
- Request a quiet work environment when possible.
- Declutter your workspace.
- Wear headphones to listen to soothing music.
- Work facing a wall instead of a busy hallway.
- Optimize the lighting in your environment.
- Identify a quiet, private location at work where you can retreat to if feeling overwhelmed.
Next:
Stress and anxiety
Back to the list of common cancer treatment side effects
