December 16, 2024
The holiday season may seem like the worst time to have an illness in the family. Even the warmest of traditions lose their luster when you are worried about your healthcare needs or those of someone you love.
If you or someone close to you has cancer, use these eight tips from the National Cancer Institute to help lift your holiday spirits.
- Be in tune with your thoughts and feelings. If you’re in a happy moment and you can’t enjoy it, take a step back to check in with yourself. Identify moments where your thoughts didn’t match the moment. Try to find joy in happy moments, but feel free to allow yourself time to cry and reflect if you need to.
- Get support. Make a list of friends and family whom you can count on to listen to your concerns, make you smile, or encourage you. And when you feel overwhelmed or stressed, call someone on your list for support.
- Eat healthy foods. Eat a balanced diet that gives your body the nutrients it needs to function correctly. Limit sugary foods and alcohol to avoid dips in your energy. If you have dietary restrictions, plan your meals or eat before attending parties and events.
- Ask friends and family to help. If tradition is dinner or a gathering at your house, plan a potluck or suggest an alternative location to family and friends instead. Or use your support list to call friends and family to help you clean and prepare, wrap presents, decorate, and play a role in the celebration.
- Start a new tradition. It’s also ok to say no to your old traditions. Ask family and friends to video chat or send a personal note to communicate your holiday wishes if you don’t have the energy to visit in person or attend an event. Plan a fun trip and go somewhere you have never been.
- Take care of yourself. Identify activities that are rewarding and make you feel good and relaxed. For example, walking, dancing, painting, or getting a massage. Be aware of the physical stress of entertaining and traveling and do not overexert yourself. Allow yourself to take small steps to complete tasks and do what you can to preserve energy.
- Don’t blame yourself. The things out of your control are not your fault. Be mindful of your self-blaming thoughts and instead be positive and focus on things you can actively control. The holidays are not a vacation from the challenges of living with a brain or spine tumor.
- Make a simple plan and pace yourself. Identify tasks that can cause stress—such as shopping, cooking, and entertaining—and plan to scale back. You can online shop, order food, or ask someone to host instead. Choose the activities and situations that are most important and put those on your task list and pace yourself to complete your list. Be mindful to schedule activities when you have the most energy.
Dealing with cancer can be hard, don’t do it alone. If you have been diagnosed with cancer, or have questions about cancer treatment options, please contact our center today. Our team is here to help and support you every step of your cancer treatment journey.