Cancer Lung Cancer Support & Coping Lung Cancer and Anxiety Coping Strategies By Lynne Eldridge, MD Lynne Eldridge, MD Facebook Lynne Eldrige, MD, is a lung cancer physician, patient advocate, and award-winning author of "Avoiding Cancer One Day at a Time." Learn about our editorial process Published on March 23, 2022 Medically reviewed by Doru Paul, MD Medically reviewed by Doru Paul, MD Doru Paul, MD, is triple board-certified in medical oncology, hematology, and internal medicine. He is an associate professor of clinical medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and attending physician in the Department of Hematology and Oncology at the New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center. Learn about our Medical Expert Board Print Table of Contents View All Table of Contents Anxiety and Lung Cancer Coping Strategies Support System Benefits Living with lung cancer can lead to anxiety in so many ways and at any stage of the disease. The stigma of the disease and its reputation as a cancer with a relatively poor prognosis can add further unease to a journey already filled with potential triggers for anxiety. Anxiety triggers can range from the uncertainty of treatment to the fear of loss of independence and death. Moments of transient anxiety are to be expected, but one study found that 43.5% of people with lung cancer experienced levels of anxiety high enough to interfere with their quality of life. This article addresses managing anxiety when you have lung cancer. Justin Paget / Getty Images Anxiety About Lung Cancer Cancer can lead to anxiety in many ways. Small amounts of anxiety may be helpful. For example, the anxiety about a tumor growing prompts people to make appointments and work out a treatment plan. Yet, persistent anxiety or anxiety that is out of proportion can have the opposite effect, reducing quality of life and impacting treatment. There are many triggers for anxiety associated with lung cancer. Some of these include: Worries about what treatments will entail, if they will be effective, and if they will have significant side effectsWorries about how there will be time to add cancer treatment on top of everything else in lifeThe fear of losing independenceThe fear of recurrence with early-stage tumors, and the fear of progression with more advanced tumorsThe fear of deathThe fear of being alone or losing support as relationships almost always change after a diagnosis, either becoming closer or farther apart if friends are uneasy or have trouble copingConcern about children and how the diagnosis will affect them long termWorries about finances, especially since expenses due to cancer can add up while working less or not at allThe fear of suffering from pain or shortness of breath associated with lung cancerThe fear of a dismal prognosis since many lung cancers are not diagnosed until an advanced stage, when the outlook is grim Physical Symptoms of Anxiety Anxiety can cause both emotional and physical symptoms. When our bodies encounter a potential danger, they respond with a fight-or-flight response by releasing the hormones epinephrine (adrenaline) and cortisol. In turn, epinephrine and cortisol may affect essentially every system of the body in some way. Physical symptoms of anxiety may include: Sweating (diaphoresis) Trembling Palpations (with or without a rapid heart rate) Nausea and vomiting Diarrhea Chest pain (especially with panic) Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing Light-headedness Paresthesias (tingling or a pins-and-needles sensation) Muscle tension Ruling Out Other Causes of Anxiety Symptoms With severe anxiety (panic), symptoms may be very similar to a heart attack or other medical conditions. Since the sudden onset of symptoms such as chest pain and a sense of impending doom may occur due to lung cancer complications—for example, a blood clot that breaks off and travels to the lungs (pulmonary embolism)—anxiety as a cause should only be considered after these other possibilities are ruled out. Emotional Symptoms of Anxiety Emotional symptoms of anxiety may include: RestlessnessFeelings of worry that are hard to control or intrusiveIrritability and mood swingsHyperarousal, a feeling of being on edge as something is about to go wrongDifficulty making decisionsDifficulty concentratingA feeling of detachment from your current situationA feeling of going crazy and being unable to control emotionsIntense fear or dread With severe anxiety and panic, people may experience a very intense fear or dread, and a sense of impending doom. Is a Sense of Impending Doom a Real Symptom? Lung Cancer Coping Strategies Coping with anxiety related to lung cancer can be challenging. For many going through treatment, it can seem like each time one issue is resolved or diffused, another arises. Coping strategies may include: Identification of stressorsStress management techniquesSeeking out counseling when necessary Name Your Anxiety and Identify Triggers Naming your anxiety and admitting to yourself that you're struggling is an important first step. It can be easy to overlook anxiety as a concern when some stress and worry is inevitable. Once you've taken this step, you can then begin to identify the triggers that lead to your anxiety. Anxiety Triggers Identifying the triggers for your anxiety is crucial in managing your symptoms. Once these triggers are identified, you may be able to address the ones that can be changed and, perhaps, spend less time worrying about those that can't be changed. Stress Management Stress management techniques can be helpful for nearly everyone, especially people who are living with lung cancer. With cancer, some very helpful techniques include: Asking for help and learning to receive help that's offered: Many people find it hard to ask for help. But holding back often backfires and leads to resentment. It might be helpful to keep in mind that loved ones of people with cancer often feel a sense of helplessness. By allowing your loved ones to help, you're benefiting them as well.Knowing your limitations: Life won't be the same as before lung cancer. Knowing what you can comfortably continue with and what you must delegate to others can reduce a lot of stress.Prioritizing activities: With limited energy, it's important to prioritize your activities. When doing this, give high priority to self-care and activities that bring you joy, not just activities you think you need to accomplish.Planning for the unexpected: That sounds like an oxymoron but anticipating that your plans or schedule might change unexpectedly may help your feel less put out when it does. Other measures that can reduce stress include: Eat a healthy diet.Exercise within your limits.Consider journaling your cancer journey.Continue old hobbies or start a new one as taking time to do something creative or focus on something that isn't cancer can be priceless. Relaxation Techniques Many relaxation techniques have been evaluated for people with cancer, with some of these (e.g., deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation) showing clear benefits to quality of life. Many of these can be done on your own, though some cancer centers also offer classes in yoga and meditation to people with cancer. Techniques may include: Deep breathing exercises Visualization Meditation Yoga Hypnosis Other mindfulness exercises Not only can mindfulness techniques help people with cancer cope with acute anxiety, but they may help with ongoing anxiety as new worries arise along the way. A 2020 review found that mindfulness-based interventions such as these continued to provide benefits for a period of six months after they were used. Benefits of Yoga for Cancer Patients Stress Relief Techniques: Find the Right One for You Social Support Social support is extremely important for people living with cancer. Types of support may be broken down into: Support from family and friendsSupport groups and cancer support communitiesOne-on-one counseling Many oncologists recommend counseling for everyone facing a diagnosis of cancer. In fact, oncology counseling is slowly being considered an essential part of treatment. Your cancer center may be able to recommend someone for you to see. In addition, resources and a helpline for finding a therapist are available through the American Psychosocial Oncology Society. Medications For some people, medications may be needed and helpful for managing anxiety. Some medications are taken short term for acute anxiety and others are used daily and for life. How a Support System Reduces Anxiety Forming a good support system can help reduce anxiety. A study looking specifically at people with lung cancer found that women who had less of a sense of family support were more susceptible to anxiety during treatment. You don't need to feel despair if you're not in a family in which this is possible. Friends can function as family members as well as blood relatives can. In the past, in-person support groups for lung cancer were sometimes helpful but challenging to attend due to a patient's fatigue and time constraints. Online support groups and communities have blossomed for people with lung cancer. They allow people to communicate worldwide with others living with lung cancer—often with the same subtype of the disease. These groups can be helpful not only from a social support standpoint (allowing you to talk to someone who is living a journey similar to yours) but can help you learn about the latest in lung cancer management. Knowledge and understanding can reduce some of the anxiety that goes with uncertainty. Lung Cancer Support Groups and Communities Summary Anxiety that is severe enough to have a negative effect on quality of life affects nearly half of the people diagnosed with lung cancer. This can cause physical and emotional symptoms, reduce quality of life, hinder treatment, and even affect outcomes. Fortunately, learning to manage stress, employing mindfulness techniques, and maintaining or improving social support can all work together to maximize your well-being while living with cancer. A Word From Verywell Anxiety with lung cancer is common and can have serious negative effects on treatments and outcomes. The importance of addressing anxiety is beginning to be recognized by the medical community. Some oncologists believe that both stress management and therapy with an oncology counselor should be a central part of a treatment program (next to chemotherapy and other treatments). If you are coping with anxiety, talk with your oncologist. When it comes to cancer, mental health and well-being are part of your physical health. 7 Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Yan X, Chen X, Meng L, Zhang P. Prevalence and risk factors of anxiety and depression in Chinese patients with lung cancer:a cross-sectional study. Cancer Manag Res. 2019;11:4347-4356. doi:10.2147/CMAR.S202119 American Society of Clinical Oncology. Anxiety. National Cancer Institute. Adjustment to cancer: anxiety and distress. Oberoi S, Yang J, Woodgate RL, et al. Association of mindfulness-based interventions with anxiety severity in adults with cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(8):e2012598. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.12598 Paras-Bravo P, Salvadores-Fuentes P, Alonso-Blanco C, et al. The impact of muscle relaxation techniques on the quality of life of cancer patients, as measured by the FACT-G questionnaire. PLoS One. 2017;12(10):e0184147. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0184147 Lekka D, Pachi A, Tselebis A, et al. Pain and anxiety versus sense of family support in lung cancer patients. Pain Res Treat. 2014;2014:312941. doi:10.1155/2014/312941 American Cancer Society. Psychosocial support options for people with cancer. By Lynne Eldridge, MD Lynne Eldrige, MD, is a lung cancer physician, patient advocate, and award-winning author of "Avoiding Cancer One Day at a Time." 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