Understanding mental health implications of a breast cancer diagnosis.

<div class="block">A breast cancer diagnosis can be jarring and traumatic but there are tools out there to help. Dr. Liat Jarkon joined &#39;beWell&#39; to talk about common reactions to a diagnosis, signs of depression and how to seek help.</div>

beWell

Be Well: Breast Cancer Diagnoses and Mental Health

Being diagnosed with breast cancer and going through treatments can bring a flood of emotions including fear, anxiety, and even depression. But taking care of your mental health after receiving a breast cancer diagnosis can help you feel better emotionally and physically. So here with some helpful information is the director of the Center for Behavioral Health at New York Tech psychiatrist, Doctor Leat Jar. And thank you so much for being here for this important conversation because what would you say are some of the main reactions you get when people are first diagnosed with breast cancer? Well, Shannon, as you can imagine when you get that diagnosis, people are in shock, they're scared. It's very, very overwhelming. Um The most typical reaction is fear. You know, what is this journey going to look like? What am I gonna look like? Am I gonna have symptoms from treatment? Is my family gonna treat me the same way? Will I be able to continue to work? So a lot of these unknowns make somebody very, very frightened and the sadness also can come in which can lead to depression, which is really an issue that needs to be addressed. How many of those that are diagnosed, would you say experience depression? Unfortunately, a lot, the the Mental Health Association of America came up with statistics that one in three patients that are diagnosed with cancer and hospitalized have some sort of common mental health symptom, depression, anxiety, and up to 24% actually have clinical depression. So what can someone do if they are experiencing this? The most important thing is to get screened, They have to find out that they have these symptoms, they have the diagnosis and then we can talk about treatments which there are a lot of different options because if you don't treat the cancer, if you don't treat the the mental health issue while you're having cancer, chances are patients may not get the treatment that they need, they may not follow up with appointments and it could be very, very deleterious to their cancer journey. What are some of the symptoms or signs that someone is experiencing depression? Because for those family people think, oh, she's just tired, he's just tired. They're going through this situation. It's very important for people to understand that feeling down in the dumps is different from feeling depressed. The two are very, very different. Um And I think that the signs and symptoms are a lot of changes in their moods in their energy levels. They disconnect, they decide, you know, they, they go more internal and they're, they're less available emotionally and they stop functioning as they should. Well, we know speaking with a professional is important when you're going through something like this, even if you don't think you need it. But what are some other things people can do to kind of combat depression? Well, after they do get diagnosed, they need to get it treated, they need to not be in denial and they need to go ahead and they need to speak to professionals. But also there are lots of different treatment options, there's medications, there's therapy. Um but the more that patients with breast cancer are aware of their diagnosis of depression. If that's what's happening, the stronger they can be in fighting the breast cancer. That's the issue. If the more physically and emotionally strong you are, the more likely you can do better with your diagnosis. And I know you say it's important to keep up with a normal routine. Don't act like my life is over, but keep going what you normally do. Also having a positive attitude is important. What can family members do to help so much? Family members can do so much to help the patient who's diagnosed. The most important thing is they need to be aware that it's still the same person not to treat them differently, they're not damaged, you know, they're, they just have a diagnosis. So be respectful of their boundaries. If they're not interested in speaking to you at that moment, just be a shoulder to lean on or, or a sounding board. Um And most importantly, the family members sometimes themselves get very anxious about what's going to happen to their loved one. Don't burden the patient with that, go and get your own help and figure out how to handle it. So the patient doesn't have to go ahead and uh make you feel better. Great advice. Doctor Joan. Thank you so much for being here back to you Elizabeth.