The Quiet Grief After Cancer: How a Therapist for Cancer Survivors Can Help You Move Through It

As a therapist for cancer survivors, I’ve seen how often people assume that counseling is most helpful right after diagnosis or during treatment, when everything feels uncertain and overwhelming. 

And while support during those phases is important, many are surprised to discover that the emotional weight often hits after treatment ends. In this post, we’ll explore why the post-treatment phase can be especially difficult and how therapy can help you process and heal during this stage of your journey with cancer.

Therapy During Diagnosis & Treatment

Naturally, you’re probably thinking that therapy is most beneficial during the time that you are first diagnosed with cancer and beginning to go through treatment. This certainly isn’t wrong – you are processing the initial shock and so many emotions as you’re faced with all the ways your life is about to change. 

There is a lot of fear and anxiety during this stage of the cancer journey, and it’s incredibly helpful to have someone outside of your family and friends to talk with about how you’re feeling. 

Sometimes, there are parts about the experience that you don’t want to share with your family for one reason or another, so it’s helpful to have someone in your corner who is outside of your immediate circle. 

[You can read more about this in the first article in this series: Why Therapy for Cancer Patients Is Helpful]

How a Therapist for Cancer Survivors Can Support You After Treatment Ends

However, what most people don’t realize is that there is sometimes even more emotional processing that occurs after you’re finished with treatment. 

Patients will often say to me, “My treatment is over, so why am I crying now? I should feel happy!” 

Or, they will share that they’re frustrated with themselves because family and friends expect them to feel celebratory or for things to go back to normal, but they can’t figure out why they still feel so down. 

This is because when it finally gets calm and quiet, that’s when you have space to process what you just went through. 

Your mind and body have been in fight mode for so long, it’s when you finally relax that you’re suddenly hit with many emotions. 

It’s extremely common to feel things like sadness, anger, instability, PTSD, and fear of recurrence following cancer treatment. 

This is why many people find counseling to be even more beneficial at this stage than during the initial diagnosis and treatment. I know it was a huge help to me during this part of my journey with cancer (and it still is today!). 

Counseling helps you process what you’ve experienced and learn helpful tools for moving forward.   

Cancer Counseling in Pennsylvania

Because I found counseling to be so helpful to me through my experience with cancer, I knew I wanted to start focusing my practice on folks dealing with a diagnosis of their own. So if you are currently struggling with cancer and looking for someone to talk to, I encourage you to reach out to me. 

I offer complimentary consultation calls so you can get your questions answered and determine if we’d be a good fit. I understand that beginning therapy can be difficult, so I’m here to listen. 

Contact Cathy