Maintaining a Social Life During Treatment

Your social network--friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers--can bring you more than flowers or frozen dinners during your cancer treatment. When you maintain your social contacts, you can get benefits that improve your overall treatment outcome.

You may not be feeling your most cheerful or sociable while undergoing treatment, but that's OK. Try not to become isolated. Cancer and its treatment are not things to try to tough out on your own.

Just because you have cancer doesn't mean you can't have fun doing things you enjoy. Go with a friend to see a movie or theater production, attend a party, visit a park, or have a restaurant meal. When your energy is lagging, friends can bring you take-out. Initially, you may need to suggest the social activity so your friends know you're interested.

It's important to sustain your social contacts, even if only for short phone conversations or brief visits. Using e-mail can help you stay connected with friends who live at a distance.

Choose people to socialize and talk with who are good listeners, so you can share your feelings as you wish. Family members may be struggling so hard with their own emotions about your illness that they may not be able to give you as much social support as would be good for you.

If you're used to being independent, you may not want to ask others to help you. Yet the people close to you often are looking for ways to connect. Let them in to go for a walk, take a drive, have tea together, or watch a comedy video. You'll both gain a lot.