Mental Health and Cancer

If you've been reading for a while, you know how important I think it is to talk about the emotional aspects of Follicular Lymphoma. For many of us with FL, physical symptoms are not a big problem, at least not right away, or all the time. We are able to watch and wait, keeping an eye on physical symptoms until they require treatment.

But the emotional symptoms don't go away -- worry, fear, guilt. They need to be taken care of, maybe even sooner than the physical symptoms.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. And one of the great things I have learned at HealtheVoices over the last two years is that Mental Health is not only important, but often ignored, both by people and their doctors. There's a stigma that is attached to having Mental Health issues -- we don't have any problem with going to a doctor to get our physical symptoms looked at (whether it's cancer or just a bad cold), but we're reluctant to see someone about mental symptoms.

I think that's especially true of men, though it's certainly true of women, too. Certainly in the U.S., we are taught to "suck it up" and "get over it" when we are feeling overwhelming negative emotions. I tell myself those things, and I tell my kids them too. But sometimes, it's the wrong thing to say. Sometimes, that leads to not getting help for our Mental Health.

One of the people I met at HealtheVoices last year (and again this year) is Al Levin, an advocate for Mental Health patients. Al writes a blog and produces a podcast (The Depression Files) with new episodes twice a month, that focus on Mental Health and the importance of taking away the stigma that comes with it. He told me stories about being diagnosed with depression, and wearing a hat and sunglasses to the pharmacy to get his medication, afraid of the shame that would come if someone saw him, and then tearing the receipt into small pieces so no one could see what his prescription was for.

Imagine how horrible our lives as Follicular Lymphoma patients would be if there was that same stigma attached to Rituxan. And imagine how many FL patients would just take their chances with not getting treatment, and how disastrous the results would be.

I'm not just saying that it's bad that we as a society don't have a good attitude about Mental Health, although I think that's true.

I also think it's important to remind cancer patients that we need to take care of our mental symptoms, and not just our physical ones.

There are lots of ways that cancer can affect Mental Health. Three of the most common ways are Anxiety, Depression, and Grief. But there are certainly others.

The first step in dealing with them is to let someone know how you are feeling -- a partner or family member, a friend or a doctor. Find out about Mental Health services available through your oncologist's office -- support groups, social workers, therapists or counselors.

But whatever you do, if you're feeling bad, don't keep it to yourself. there are lots of ways to get help.

I asked Al if I could repost something he wrote on his blog a couple of years ago, and he kindly said I could. Please read it and share it, and remind people (whether they are cancer patients or not) that there's no shame in getting help.

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From A Mental Health Blog by Al Levin, May 2016:

It’s Mental Health Awareness Month????

Did you know that the month of May is Mental Health Awareness Month?  It seems to me that few people realize that May is Mental Health Awareness Month.  I believe that this speaks volumes about the long road we have to go regarding awareness, and therefore, the anti-stigma work, around mental health.  According to Wikipedia, “Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed in May in the United States since 1949.” How is it that so many people are still unaware of its existence?  It was just last April 22 that the New York Times ran an article titled, “US Suicide Rate Surges to a 30-Year High”, yet it is almost as though you need to be a part of a secret club in order to find out that May is Mental Health Awareness Month.

Last year I remember having the conversation with a therapist at a Behavioral Health clinic who had no idea that May was Mental Health Month.  I did a Google search today for “Behavioral Health Clinic” and of the first ten clinics/organizations that I clicked on, not one of them mentioned that May is Mental Health Awareness Month.  How ironic is it that so few people are aware of a month that has been dedicated to mental health awareness for 67 years?

What can you do?  Here some thoughts that I have around supporting the fact that May is Mental Health Awareness month:

1. Share your story in writing.  There are many websites where you can share your story.  Here are just a couple of them: Mental Health America and The Mighty.
2. Request to set up a presentation at your company/organization to promote mental health awareness and support.  NAMI has many affiliates that offer these services
3. Post flyers at your work place that offer resources for those with mental illness
4. Offer employees to share artwork and poetry and post them in a public location.

This is obviously a non-exhaustive list and I know there are many more ideas out there.  Here are a couple of other resources with ideas on how to support Mental Health Awareness Month:

• OKMHCA
• Mental Health America
• NAMI Mental Health Month

Do what you can to support the awareness of mental illnesses and the elimination of the stigma!