Don’t throw in the towel
I was 21. I was a senior at UCF and a track and field athlete when I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) with a positive Philadelphia chromosome. I went through intensive
Read BlogYou may experience temporary or permanent physical changes in your body as a result of cancer treatment. The way you feel and think about your body may also change. Understanding how cancer can affect your body image can help you feel confident as you experience and manage changes in your body.
Your body image is what you believe about your appearance, even though other people might see you differently. A poor body image may cause you to feel ashamed, self-conscious and anxious about your body. However, it’s important to remember that your body is only one part of who you are as a whole person. If you focus only on what your body looks like, you might overlook the strength of your personality, your interest in life and the talents you bring to many areas of your life.
Both permanent and temporary physical changes may or may not be visible to other people. When physical changes aren't visible to others, you may not notice any changes in how you feel about your body. However, even these changes can affect you because body image relates to how you feel about your body, not how it actually looks to others.
Even if you don’t experience any physical changes from cancer, you might still feel like others see you differently. You may think they don't understand you or can't relate to you now. These feelings of insecurity and uncertainty may affect your body image, even if you look exactly like you did before cancer.
Cancer and treatment affect people differently and so do physical changes. Sometimes physical changes caused by cancer prevent you from working or doing things you used to enjoy before cancer. This can be very difficult to accept. Even small changes in your body may seem overwhelming.
Others may react—positively or negatively--to your physical changes. This can affect your body image. Working to keep a strong, positive body image can help you worry less about how other people’s reactions.
Many cancer survivors want their lives to return to normal. However, permanent physical changes can seem like constant reminders that life is different. You may worry that life will never be normal again. All these things can affect how well you feel about yourself and your body. Consider giving yourself time to adjust to changes in your body or changes in how you feel about yourself. In time, your body image can improve as you start to adjust to life after cancer.
Doing your best to remain positive and recognize your strengths beyond your physical appearance can help improve your body image.
Support groups provide a safe environment to share experiences with other survivors, learn new ways to handle difficult situations and talk about emotions. You’ll see different styles of adjusting to body changes. Everyone deal with changes in body image in their own way. It’s a personal experience. However, you’ll learn some general approaches that may help you improve your body image and begin to better understand your body after cancer.