When you have cancer, you will undergo different kinds of treatments. Whether it is after surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy, you will experience some physical adverse reactions caused by these treatments to varying degrees, so those who have gone through the treatments are familiar with the physical adverse reactions caused by these treatments, such as fatigue caused by radiation therapy, nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, and so on. But what about the psychological effects of treatment? How should we face them? Patients will have questions such as the following during the treatment process. Is it worthwhile for me to persist in this way when there are so many difficulties in the treatment process? When the adverse effects of treatment on the body are severe, the idea of giving up may creep in. There is no doubt that it is worth it to endure these blows in order to regain your health, so if the treatment process becomes difficult, you must keep reminding yourself that the pain is worth enduring. I’m not the same person I used to be! Changes in your physical appearance, such as hair loss, pallor, and weight loss, can lead to thoughts of “I’m not the same person I used to be.” This physical change can be psychologically painful, as it relentlessly erodes your self-confidence. You may become reluctant to look in the mirror, feel overwhelmed or decide that your body parts no longer function as they used to. You have to keep in mind that these symptoms come with the treatment and once the treatment stops, everything will slowly return to normal. My life became a daily routine of injections, pills and blood draws. Sometimes you feel that life is all about medication and treatment and nothing else because your schedule has been completely taken over by treatment and care, and going through phase after phase of chemotherapy makes you feel that the treatment is never-ending. For a while, your life is bound to be a constant battle with symptoms, medications and treatments, but knowing that it’s all temporary and learning to take a break from the process will ease some of your anxiety. Am I a wimp? Difficult treatments can be physically and emotionally draining, in fact milder symptoms such as recurrent low-grade fever and numbness in the fingertips of the hands and feet (caused by chemotherapy) will make it difficult to cope with cancer treatments, so coping with cancer treatments really does take courage and strength. However, it is often thought in people’s minds that asking for help is a sign of weakness. In fact, asking for advice or help from other patients or others does not make you a weak and incompetent person. You should seek all available resources to help you through these difficult treatments, which can make your treatment easier and less painful. Tears of sadness or unwarranted excitement over something trivial. Sometimes you may find yourself unable to control your feelings, even to the point of tears over trivial matters, or your mood may go from one extreme to another, with euphoria followed by extreme depression. These manifestations may be the result of therapeutic drugs, such as prednisone and flumethasone, will affect the human mood, causing the first excitement and then extremely low mood changes, this “swing” type of change will disappear after treatment, if this mood change is very serious, you should seek the help of a psychiatrist, or even through the control of drugs. If the mood change is very severe, you should seek help from a psychiatrist or even medication to control it, because a persistent low mood may turn into depression. Inability to concentrate. During chemotherapy, some people complain that they can’t remember things, can’t read or concentrate on their work. Feelings of “going crazy”. Some chemotherapy drugs, especially at high doses, can temporarily affect your ability to think, causing memory problems and difficulty concentrating. These reactions are also temporary. Avoid activities that require concentration, such as driving, and your memory and concentration will come back slowly after treatment stops, so there is no need to be upset or to feel that your memory and concentration have been destroyed. The above only lists a part of the psychological adverse reactions in cancer treatment, in fact, there are many more psychological problems brought about by the treatment, which need our attention and handling. But first and foremost you have to recognize them yourself, have the desire to deal with them and tell your doctor about these thoughts.