The inversion of Cocaine in your brain

May 4, 2015

The inversion of Cocaine in your brain: Effects of Cocaine in the Nerve system

The inversion of Cocaine in your brain. Cocaine has an extremely rapid euphoric effect on the user, especially when smoked or snorted.

Cocaine is very addictive and a psychoactive drug affecting the central nervous system primarily. Originally it is prepared from the leaf of the Erythroxylon coca bush, which grows mainly in Peru and Bolivia. The simplicity of its usage has made the inversion of cocaine in your brain more chronic and threatening. As a matter of facts this drug is self-administered in several ways explains doctor Dalal Akoury. The most common method of cocaine abuse is snorting in its powder form into the nasal sinuses, either alone or with the accompaniment of heroin (speedball). This drug is easily available in the streets as a hydrochloride salt which is a fine, white crystalline powder known in several street manes as coke, C, snow, flake, or blow. Besides snorting, the drug can also be administered through smoking which for many is effective in producing quick result as crack cocaine.

According to the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, cocaine produces a wide range of physiological effects in humans, including the stimulation of a plethora of emotional experiences. When people take in cocaine, they become euphoric, over exited, highly active and more talkative than normal. When they use this drug, they experience the feelings of extreme power and alertness. This initial high is followed by sessions of severe anxiety, paranoia, and depression, which often lead to addiction. Those who become addicted to the drug often turn the habit into an obsession, so that they devote more, and more of their time and money to acquiring and using the drug explains doctor Akoury. Therefore what are some of the notable symptoms of addiction for users?

The inversion of Cocaine in your brain: Symptoms of addiction

People who abuse these drugs regularly often exhibit psychotic behavior such as:

Hallucinations
Delusions of persecution
Mood disturbances
Repetitive behaviors

All these closely resemble the symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia. Trained mental health professionals have difficulties in telling a schizophrenic and cocaine addict apart unless they know the patient’s background. Although the psychological and behavioral effects of cocaine use in humans have been well documented, the current knowledge of the neurological basis for the abuse of cocaine in humans is still limited. The majority of knowledge we possess about the mechanisms of the effects of cocaine comes from animal studies performed over the last 20 years. These studies have clearly demonstrated the crucial role of the neurotransmitter dopamine in initiating many of the effects of cocaine use.

The inversion of Cocaine in your brain: Effects on the brain

Cocaine is an indirect dopamine agonist. Once in the brain, it works in large part by occupying, or blocking, dopamine transporter sites in the terminal buttons of neurons in the brain. This prevents the reuptake of dopamine by the neurons that release it, allowing higher concentrations of dopamine to remain in the synapse for an extended period of time. This abnormally long presence, and high concentration, of dopamine in the synapse is believed to cause the high associated with cocaine use. Dopamine has been implicated in several important functions, including movement, attention, learning, and the reinforcing effects of drug use. Therefore, its extended presence in high concentrations will be effective in the particular parts of the brain that control these functions, such as the basal ganglia and the limbic system.

The inversion of Cocaine in your brain: Cocaine and the dopamine transporter

Studies have confirmed that the reinforcing effects of cocaine involve dopamine transporter molecules. In a dopamine study, a group of scientists produced a targeted mutation of the gene responsible for production of the dopamine transporter protein in mice. In their findings, it was established that several compensatory mechanisms in an animal’s brain help it to adapt to the chronically higher level of dopamine resulting from their mutation induced reuptake inability. One of these mechanisms is a large decrease in post-synaptic dopamine receptors, rendering dopamine less effective. Another strategy is a corresponding decrease in the concentration of tyrosine hydroxylase (enzyme responsible for the synthesis of dopamine), decreasing the availability of dopamine. So, when cocaine was administered to these animals, it had no effect on the animal’s behavior since dopamine reuptake no longer occurred due to lack of functional dopamine transporters. This therefore is a demonstration that the dopamine transporter is essential for cocaine to be able to produce its effects.

The inversion of Cocaine in your brain: A quick fix

Cocaine has an extremely rapid euphoric effect on the user, especially in the case of the smoking method of use, because the drug directly enters the pulmonary blood stream when smoked. Cocaine has a relatively short half-life in the plasma and in the brain. When administered intravenously (IV) to humans, the half-life is in the range of 16 to 87 minutes. This short half-life accounts for the rapid euphoric effects of the drug. Typically, when the drug is administered intravenously, it produces a fast “hit-and-run” effect on the potentiation of the extracellular levels of dopamine. Nonetheless when rats are given a continuous flow of dopamine intravenously, they experience a peak in dopamine levels in just 10 minutes followed by a return to regular levels after 20 to 30 minutes. Because the initial high experienced by cocaine abusers lasts for only a short time, the initial stimulatory actions of cocaine can be attributed to the elevation of synaptic dopamine levels.

Finally the use of drugs not necessarily cocaine is not your portion. Nothing actually comes good out of the use or abuse of drugs in whichever way you look at it. Being safe and free from drugs is the best thing you can do for yourself especially if you are already deeply addicted to it. There is help around you and doctor Dalal Akoury made one of the best decisions to give her professional contribution in helping the struggling societies with addiction. She decided to create a medical center whose main objective is to transform each individual’s life through increasing awareness about health and wellness and by empowering individuals to find their own inner healing power. You can also be part of this by scheduling for an appointment with her today and your life will be completely transformed for greater productivity ahead of you. Remember that doctor Akoury’s practice focuses on personalized medicine through healthy lifestyle choices that deal with primary prevention and underlying causes instead of patching up symptoms and this will be very good for you too.

The inversion of Cocaine in your brain: Effects of Cocaine in the Nerve system

How can I help myself cope with cancer

May 3, 2015

How can I help myself cope with cancer: The Attitude and Beliefs?

How can I help myself cope with cancer? By practicing moderate exercise and seeking for professional opinion

People value the care they get from their cancer care team, but many also want to take an active role in dealing with their illness. Dr. Dalal Akoury the MD and founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center has been in the medical practice for well over two decades and she is going to help us in putting this question “how can I help myself cope with cancer?” into perspective. She says that for a better understanding of these concerns, it is important to segment the useful ideas on coping with cancer in to two categories. The divisions is based on attitudes and beliefs that clearly are beneficial (and she calls them the Do’s) and those that are harmful (which she referred to as the Don’ts). The following are some of the doable.

How can I help myself cope with cancer: The Doable Attitudes?

Only go for those coping ways that have been helpful for you in the past in solving problems – It is important to note that everyone will only want to associate with those people who will add value to their lives. Therefor be selective and only go for those whom you will feel comfortable sharing and talking with about your illness freely. In the event that you can’t talk to anyone, you could opt for meditation, relaxation or listening to music as alternatives of calming you down. Do what it takes and only apply what has worked for you before and in the unlikely event that nothing works and coping is becoming difficult, then at this point getting professional help becomes necessary.

Deal with cancer “one day at a time – For effective dealing with cancer, it is very important that you keep distance from elements of worries. The business of coping with cancer will be less tasking when broken into smaller units which are manageable. By doing this, you will be able to handle your daily objectives.

Register for support and self-help groups – Only associate with value additions groups and leave any group that makes you feel worse.

Find a doctor who lets you ask all your questions – In the journey of answering this question “how can I help myself cope with cancer?” it will be very important that you in all your association there must be the feelings of mutual respect and trust. Always insist on being a partner in your treatment. Doing this will enable you to be informed of the problems you are likely to face before they come, and addressing them will become even easier.

Explore spiritual and religious beliefs and practices, such as prayer, that may have helped you in the past – If you don’t consider yourself a religious or spiritual person, get support from any belief systems that you value. This may comfort you and even help you find meaning in the experience of your illness.

Keep a personal notebook of your doctors’ numbers, dates of treatments, lab values, x-rays, scans, symptoms, side effects, medicines, and general medical status – Information about the cancer and your treatment is important to have, and no one can keep it better than you.

Keep a journal if you find a need to express yourself without holding back – It can help you process the journey, and you may be amazed by how helpful it can be.

How can I help myself cope with cancer: The Don’ts Elements?

Believe the old saying that “cancer equals death – remember that many cancer survivors are healthy today thereby disqualifying this statement.
Blame yourself for causing your cancer – There is no scientific proof linking certain personalities, emotional states, or painful life events to getting cancer. Even if you may have raised your cancer risk through smoking or some other habit, it does not help to blame yourself or beat yourself up.
Feel guilty if you can’t keep a positive attitude all the time, especially when you don’t feel well – The saying “you have to be positive to beat cancer” is not true. Low periods will come, no matter how great you are at coping. There is no proof that those times have a bad effect on your health or tumor growth. But if they become frequent or severe, getting professional help would be ideal.
Suffer in silence – Make cancer a communal problem and refuse to struggle with it alone. Get support from your family, loved ones, friends, doctor, clergy, or those you meet in support groups who understand what you are going through. With these supports, you are certainly going to cope better.
Be embarrassed or ashamed to get help from a mental health expert – If it becomes necessary to seek for the services of a mental specialist for conditions like anxiety or depression that disrupts your sleep, eating, ability to concentrate, ability to function normally, or if you feel your distress is getting out of control, don’t feel embarrassed and proceed boldly.
Abandon your regular treatment for an alternative therapy – If you use a treatment that your doctor didn’t recommend, use only those that you know do no harm. Find out if the treatment can be safely used along with your regular therapies to improve your quality of life. Psychological, social, and spiritual approaches are helpful and safe, and medical professional across the board are encouraging the use of such treatment modes. As we had mentioned things like relaxation and meditation are good ways to deal with distress.

How can I help myself cope with cancer: Other coping methods: Exercise

Doctor Akoury says that exercise is not only safe for most people during cancer treatment, but it can also help you feel better. Moderate exercise has been shown to help with tiredness, anxiety, muscle strength, and heart and blood vessel fitness. And in fact most people with cancer can do some form of exercise. Like for instance, walking is a good way to get started and a good way to keep moving when you are feeling stressed. Remember that with cancer involve not all cancer patients can be engaged in all types of exercises. Get the opinion of your doctor about your exercise plans before you start. Keep in mind that even though exercise may help lower distress levels in some people, exercise alone is usually not enough to help people with moderate to severe distress. Therefore, for comprehensive health information about our discussion topic “how can I help myself cope with cancer?” schedule for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury today and your healthy will never be the same again.

How can I help myself cope with cancer: The Attitude and Beliefs?

Understanding the Distress in People with Cancer

May 2, 2015

Understanding the Distress in People with Cancer: What is normal or abnormal?

Understanding the Distress in People with Cancer will help in offering quality ant timely treatment solutions.

With the prevalence of chronic diseases like cancer, there are certain questions that we need to answer well if we want to keep distance from such diseases. Being distressful is one common problem that is associated with cancer, and this brings us to the first question to respond to. “How do you know when your distress level is normal or more serious?” according to the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, responding to this question directly may be very difficult due to the fact that some distress are normal and are expected when one is struggling with cancer. However doctor Akoury, who is also the founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, says that certain signs and symptoms can warn you that your distress level is too high and is becoming serious. Some of those sign and symptoms may include:

Feeling flabbergasted to the point of panic
Being overcome by a sense of anxiety
Being overwhelmed with sadness to the point that you think you won’t make it through treatment
Being unusually irritable and angry
Feeling unable to cope with pain, tiredness, and nausea
Poor concentration, fuzzy thinking and sudden memory problems
Having difficulties in making certain decisions including very little and simple things.
Feeling hopeless – wondering if there is any point in going on
Thinking about cancer and death all the time
Trouble getting to sleep or early waking (getting less than 4 hours of sleep a night)
Trouble eating (a decrease in appetite, or no appetite) for a few weeks
Family conflicts and issues that seem impossible to resolve
Questioning your faith and religious beliefs that once gave you comfort
Feeling worthless and useless

Understanding the distress in people with cancer can be very complicated because a lot of things can be involved. Like for instance in some cases and many of them historical things from the past may put you or your loved one in danger of greater distress and in need of help. The following are some examples of past events that can cause distress to be worse when you have cancer:

Having a loved one who died from cancer
Having a recent serious illness or death of someone close to you
Having had depression or suicidal thoughts in the past
Memories of painful events from your past that come back as nightmares or panic attacks

If any of these describe you or a loved one, then you need to talk to your doctor immediately for direction. This could be an indication that you need help in dealing with distress. Remember that currently doctors and nurses and even other health professionals have established that emotional distress is closely associated with having cancer and should be treated along with the physical symptoms of cancer. If you are looking for the best cancer treatment centers, remember to have this problem of distress treatment in mind. Look for facilities that offer both cancer and distress treatment all together.

Understanding the Distress in People with Cancer: Tools to help measure distress

Sometimes it’s hard to talk about distress in a way that helps your cancer care team understand how much distress you’re having and how it’s affecting you. There’s a distress tool that’s much like a pain scale to help measure your distress. The pain scale works like this:

When asking about pain, the doctor might say, “How is your pain right now on a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 being no pain and 10 the worst pain you can imagine?” This has proved to be a helpful way to measure pain. A score above 5 is a sign of significant pain, and tells the cancer care team that the patient needs more help to manage it.

Some cancer teams measure distress in the same way, using a 0 to 10 scale. Just as with the pain scale, you are asked to choose the number from 0 to 10 that reflects how much distress you feel today and how much you felt over the past week. Ten is the highest level of distress you can imagine, and 0 is no distress. Most people can use this scale to rate their distress in a way that helps the cancer team. If your response is 4 or more, you are likely to have a moderate-to-high degree of distress. Your doctor and/or cancer team should find out more and offer some help with your distress.

Not only does this tool tell your team about your emotional health, but it also gives you a chance to talk and work out problems during your visit. Surveys done in cancer clinics have shown that up to 4 in 10 patients have significant levels of distress. It therefore means that no matter how distressful you may be, you are not alone in your distress situation.

Another part of the distress tool is the “Problem List,” or a list of things that may be causing your distress. For this, you read through a list of common problems and mark possible reasons for your distress. This helps your doctor to know whom you need to see to get help. The list of physical problems helps you remember those you should tell your treatment team about.

Understanding the Distress in People with Cancer: Do you need extra help for your distress?

People are affected differently with some people having a higher risk of serious distress. Like for instance if you have any of these experiences, then you will need some extra help:

Have had depression or other major mental health problems in the past
Have made a suicide attempt in the past
Suffer from other serious medical problems besides cancer
Have communication problems (such as a different language, trouble reading, or hearing problems)
Have some type of social or family problems
Have ever been physically or sexually abused
Are younger
Are female
Live alone
Have limited access to medical care
Have young children in the home
Lived with very high stress levels (even before the cancer)
Have ever abused alcohol or drugs
Have financial problems
Have spiritual or religious concerns
Have uncontrolled symptoms

Both you and your cancer care team may also notice when there are times when you are at risk for greater distress during the course of illness and treatment. Cancer is often said to be “like being on a roller coaster.” These times for more distress are often at points of change in the illness and treatment:

Finding a suspicious new symptom
During work-up and diagnosis
Waiting to start treatment
Changing treatment
Going home from the hospital
Finishing treatment
Going back to your cancer doctor for follow-up visits
Going back to a “normal” life after treatment
Cancer comes back
Treatment doesn’t work
Cancer gets worse or becomes advanced
Nearing the end of life
Going into hospice care

If your distress reaches moderate to severe levels at these times, you may need extra help. And up on understanding the distress in people with cancer, you can schedule for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury today for that much needed professional help.

Understanding the Distress in People with Cancer: What is normal or abnormal?

Identifying Distress in People with Cancer

May 2, 2015

Identifying Distress in People with Cancer: What is distress?

Identifying Distress in People with Cancer. Distress suffering is not just physical but also emotional and psychological

If you have been in company of any cancer patient you need not to be told o the suffering those cancer patients go through. The suffering is not just physical but also emotional and psychological. These put together brings a lot of distress to patients and if not addressed, treatment becomes very difficult. It is because of this reasons that we want to focus our discussion towards identifying distress in people with cancer. To do this we are going to be speaking to experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of Doctor Akoury’s care. Distress is a word with many connotations. However for our discussion we are going to use “distress” to describe unpleasant feelings or emotions that may cause problems for you as you cope with cancer disease and its treatment. It is also important to note that distress is also common with the family members and loved ones of people with cancer. Doctor Akoury says that distress is a big hindrance in cancer treatment and can make it harder to deal with all the changes that come with a cancer diagnosis. When we talk about being distressed in normal circumstances it would mean that you are feeling:

Unhappy or sad
Hopeless
Powerless or helpless
Afraid and fearful
Guilty
Anxious
Panic
Discouraged
Depressed
Uncertain

The impact of stress can be very complicated when dealing with cancer since it may affect areas of your life other than your feelings. It can affect your thoughts, your behavior, and how you interact with others says doctor Akoury.

Identifying Distress in People with Cancer: How to know when your distress level is normal or more serious?

Being stressed or distressful can be normal in our daily lives. Actually we all at one time have been stressed while handling our daily activities. The same applies with certain amount of distress when you or a loved one has cancer. These kinds of distress are caused, in part, because of the attitudes and fears people have about cancer. Like for instance, one of the greatest fears people have is that cancer means death or will ultimately lead to death. Nonetheless this idea of cancer leading to death is not true and unfounded. The truth is that today we have millions of people who have had cancer but have survived through the available treatment available in various health facilities.

Of course, people are upset when they learn they have cancer no matter how much progress has been made in treating it. There are many things that suddenly seem uncertain further explaining why identifying distress in people with cancer is very important. The challenges that people have include the worries about changes that will happen to their bodies when attacked by cancer. How their loved ones will cope with this situation and all other things that are likely to happen. The fear of a bleak future dons on them and people often wonder in silence or aloud that “Am I going to die?” and worries as to “why is this happening to me?”

And because cancer is hereditary, once you learn that you or a loved one has cancer, you may no longer feel safe. You may feel afraid, exposed, weak, and vulnerable. Such feelings often last through treatment, and you may feel anxiety and sadness, too. Doctor Akoury says that it’s normal to worry, especially at certain times, such as at the commencement of treatment. A recovering cancer patient acknowledges that, the worst time for him was waiting for that first chemo treatment. “Once it was over, and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, I was OK. I actually felt better because I was finally doing something about the cancer” says the patient.

Identifying Distress in People with Cancer: Cancer Surgery

Waiting for surgery is another time of major concern. People often worry about the operation itself, but also about whether the cancer is growing while they wait. Fears about the changes that surgery will cause can be a major source of distress, too. Then there are concerns about work and home life and how they may change. Insurance and financial issues often add to the worries. For some people, one of the hardest times is after cancer treatment. Rather than feeling happy that treatment is over, they feel even greater distress. One patient put it this way: “I’m on my own now and I’m just waiting to see what will happen next.” From that statement you notice that this patient is very distress even though treatment has been concluded.

Seeing the oncologist (cancer doctor) after treatment can feel quite scary. Nearly everyone has some fear the cancer will come back (recur). This is normal, too. “Every time I have aches and pains, I’m convinced it’s the cancer coming back even if it’s a pain in my big toe,” one patient said.

Identifying Distress in People with Cancer: Everything about cancer is Stressful

Dealing with the side effects of treatment such as tiredness (fatigue), hair loss, weight changes, and how disrupted your life seems is also stressful. In fact, everything about having cancer is stressful. Being upset and worried are part of it, so a certain amount of distress is expected when you find you have cancer. But sometimes distress can go from the expected level to one that interferes with your treatment, makes it hard for you to cope with the illness, and affects all parts of your life.

It’s not a sign of weakness that you become so distressed that it interferes with your ability to do your usual activities. When you visit us at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, our team of experts will explain for you the range of distress from what is considered normal to very high and offer some ideas about how to handle your feelings in ways that will be helpful. The very first thing you need to do in coping with distress is consulting with your doctors and cancer support team. Talking to them about how you feel will make you feel much safer. Their purpose is to help you get better and if they notice something that needs to be addressed, then they will direct you to the help you need. Remember that these people are only here to help you not just for the cancer treatment, but they are also counting on you to tell them how you are doing and what you are feeling. This is one assignment that you are the only one that can do and no one else.

Finally when addressing distress of cancer patients, the scope is not just limited to them but it is also applies to their loved ones. These people are a strong source of support, and their well-being is important, too in the delivery of successful treatment. Therefore if you are a loved one and feel distressed, it’s OK to let the cancer care team knows that you need help. You can also schedule for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury for much more professional assistance.

Identifying Distress in People with Cancer: What is distress?

How Cancer affects your emotional health

April 30, 2015

How Cancer affects your emotional health: Depression and cancer

How Cancer affects your emotional health is one thing you can avoid by being physically active

It is never fun to be told that you are suffering from cancer. When such news is broken to the patients, devastation, pain and anguish sets in not just to the patient but even to the relatives and loved ones. For sure most patients, families, and caregivers expresses some degree of depression, anxiety, and fear when cancer becomes part of their lives. These feelings are normal responses to this life-changing experience. We want to settle into the discussion of how cancer affects your emotional health and what you can do to help. We will be guided by the help of doctor Dalal Akoury who is also the founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center where a lot of cancer preventive treatment are done. You can also be part of the many experiencing life transformation with the professionalism approach doctor Akoury is applying in the treatment of her clients.

Like I have just mention cancer is life threatening and people struggling with cancer will have the feelings expressed above which can be caused by many things, including changes in their families’ roles and even assignment at their work stations. A cancer patient is likely to feel the loss of control over life events, and bear the burden of dealing with changes in their body image. They might feel grief at the losses and changes in their lives that cancer brings. There may be fear of the eventualities like death, suffering, pain, or all the unknown elements that lie ahead. This may not be limited to the patients only but even the family members and caregivers may have these feelings too. It is possible that they will be afraid of losing their loved one. Anger of knowing that cancer is affecting their loved ones will be another concern especially with the knowledge that cancer is genetically inherited. This will in many ways cause both the patient and their loved ones frustration and stress that they are either not doing enough to help or that they have to do more at home.

In all these, it’s important to remember that people with cancer, as well as their friends and family, can feel distress about these things at any time after a cancer diagnosis, even many years after the cancer is treated. And as the cancer situation changes, they all must cope with new stressors along with the old, and their feelings often change, too. For instance, people dealing with cancer that’s spread and is making the person feel worse may have more emotional distress than those dealing with early-stage cancers.

People who have physical symptoms such as pain, nausea, or extreme tiredness (fatigue) also seem more likely to have emotional distress. Most of the time, physical symptoms can be controlled with medicines but it could take more than one try to find the right drug or combination of drugs. Doctor Akoury emphasizes that because of this, patient must keep consulting closely with their doctors and with their cancer team. This way they can help with these kinds of symptoms before you feel overwhelmed.

Take note that this link is tailored to equip you with health information that can help your families, friends, and caregivers to know what feelings and behaviors they might expect from their loved one who has been diagnosed with cancer. It is also to help you understand what isn’t normal and when more needs to be done like getting outside help. Besides, it can also help you recognize when you or others need outside help. Remember that everybody is vulnerable to cancer and all these things can happen to anyone including your caregivers, friends, and family members too. Anyone affected by cancer theirs or a loved one will need help in dealing with the emotions that result.

How Cancer affects your emotional health: Depression and cancer

It’s normal to grieve over the changes that cancer brings to a person’s life. The future, which may have seemed so sure before, now becomes uncertain. Some dreams and plans may be lost forever. But if a person has been sad for a long time or is having trouble carrying out day-to-day activities, that person may have clinical depression. In fact, up to 1 in 4 people with cancer have clinical depression. The effects of clinical depression is alluded to great distress, impairs functioning, and might even make the person with cancer less able to follow their cancer treatment plan. In all these, there is still hope and the good news is that clinical depression can be treated. Therefore if you know of anyone who has symptoms of clinical depression, you can be their link to the much help they need, encourage them to get help from the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center. There are many ways to treat clinical depression including medicines, counseling, or a combination of both. With good and timely treatments, you can reduce your rate of suffering and improve the quality of your life.

How Cancer affects your emotional health: Symptoms of clinical depression

Loss of interest or pleasure in almost all activities most of the time
Being slowed down or restless and agitated almost every day, enough for others to notice
Frequent thoughts of death or suicide (not just fear of death), suicide plans or attempts
Continues sadness, hopeless, or “empty” mood for most of the day
Extreme tiredness (fatigue) or loss of energy
Trouble focusing thoughts, remembering, or making decisions
Feeling guilty, worthless, or helpless
Major weight loss (when not dieting) or weight gain
Trouble sleeping with early waking, sleeping too much, or not being able to sleep

Remember, some of these symptoms, such as weight changes, fatigue, or even forgetfulness can be caused by cancer and its treatment. However when five or more of these symptoms happen consistently daily for 2 weeks or more, or are severe enough to interfere with normal activities, it might be assign of depression. If this description fits your situation, then you need to be checked for clinical depression by a qualified health or mental health professional. If the person tries to hurt him- or herself, or has a plan to do so, get help right away.

How Cancer affects your emotional health: What to do

Promote physical activity, especially mild exercise such as daily walks.
Reassure the person that with time and treatment, he or she will start to feel better – and although changes to the treatment plan are sometimes needed, it’s important to be patient.
Help make appointments for mental health treatment, if needed.
Provide transportation for treatment, if needed.
Remember that it’s OK to feel sad and grieve over the losses that cancer has brought to their lives, and to yours.
Realize that being pessimistic and thinking everything is hopeless are symptoms of depression and should get better with treatment.
Engage the person in conversation and activities they enjoy.
Encourage the depressed person to continue treatment until symptoms improve, or to talk to the doctor about different treatment if there’s no improvement after 2 or 3 weeks.

If you suspect you may be depressed, schedule for an appointment with doctor Akoury today.

How Cancer affects your emotional health: Depression and cancer

Tag Archives: AWAREmed Prostate Cancer Treatment