This compassionate book presents dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), a proven psychological intervention that Marsha M. Linehan developed specifically for the impossible situations of life--and which she and Elizabeth Cohn Stuntz now apply to the unique challenges of cancer for the first time. *How can you face the fear, sadness, and anger without being paralyzed by them? *Is it possible to hold on to hope without being in denial? *How can you nurture supportive relationships when you have barely enough energy to take care of yourself? Learn powerful DBT skills that can help you make difficult treatment decisions, manage overwhelming emotions, speak up for your needs, and tolerate distress. The stories and collective wisdom of other cancer patients and survivors illustrate the coping skills and show how you can live meaningfully, even during the darkest days.

The emotional pressures on cancer patients and their families are increasing and traditional supports are decreasing. This book attempts to provide a readable, authoritative and balanced review of the emotional pressures and coping methods of cancer patients, and the help currently available to them. The special problems of children and terminal patients with cancer, and the role of the family in coping, are also examined. A balanced and critical assessment is made of defects in health organisation, training of personnel and attitudes to cancer patients in Western society. A similar assessment is made of the growing tendency to self help, mutual help and group activities for such patients. While each individual needs to select coping aids best suited to his or her own temperament, medical advisors need to make more time available for discussion of technical, emotional, social and sexual problems. The availability of a cancer-treating "team" makes this feasible. Chapters were invited from physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists and sociologists expert in this field, and they have responsed to the challenge of writing in non-technical language. This is so that readership can cross disciplinary boundaries and thus stimulate physicians, nurses, psychologists, sociologists, clergy and others, to satisfy some of the currently unmet needs of cancer patients. The reader may note a small amount of overlap between some chapters, permitted in order to maintain continuity and make each chapter complete in itself.

Here's a book filled with practical techniques for coping with the emotional impact of this life-threatening disease from an eminent psychologist and long-term cancer survivor. Fiore shows readers how to: manage the initial shock of receiving a cancer diagnosis; establish team relationships with doctors; communicate with family and friends; deal with feelings of helplessness; lessen stress and worry; combat depression; prepare for treatment; and live a rich full life despite the fear.

A Mind-Body Approach to Healing If you have received a cancer diagnosis, you know that the hundreds of questions and concerns you have about what's to come can be as stressful as the cancer treatment itself. But research shows that if you mentally prepare yourself to handle cancer treatment by getting stress and anxiety under control, you can improve your quality of life and become an active participant in your own recovery. Created by leading psychologists specializing in oncology, the Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery program is based on mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), a therapeutic combination of mindfulness meditation and gentle yoga now offered to cancer survivors and their loved ones in hundreds of medical centers, hospitals, and clinics worldwide. Let this book be your guide as you let go of fear and focus on getting well. With this eight-week program, you'll learn to: • Use proven MBSR skills during your treatment and recovery • Boost your immune function through meditation and healing yoga • Calm feelings of fear, uncertainty, and lack of control • Mindfully manage difficult symptoms and side effects • Discover your own capacity for healing and thriving after adversity

Cancer care today often provides state-of-the-science biomedical treatment, but fails to address the psychological and social (psychosocial) problems associated with the illness. This failure can compromise the effectiveness of health care and thereby adversely affect the health of cancer patients. Psychological and social problems created or exacerbated by cancer-including depression and other emotional problems; lack of information or skills needed to manage the illness; lack of transportation or other resources; and disruptions in work, school, and family life-cause additional suffering, weaken adherence to prescribed treatments, and threaten patients' return to health. Today, it is not possible to deliver high-quality cancer care without using existing approaches, tools, and resources to address patients' psychosocial health needs. All patients with cancer and their families should expect and receive cancer care that ensures the provision of appropriate psychosocial health services. Cancer Care for the Whole Patient recommends actions that oncology providers, health policy makers, educators, health insurers, health planners, researchers and research sponsors, and consumer advocates should undertake to ensure that this standard is met.

Annotation This book/manual package provides a clinical framework for health professionals who wish to offer group psychosocial support to breast cancer patients. The package trains therapists to help group members cope with the diagnosis of breast cancer and its treatment and provides empirical validation for the program's techniques. Session- by-session guidelines are supplied in the therapist's manual for each module of the program. A separate companion workbook for group participants is also available. Antoni is professor of psychology, psychiatry, and behavioral sciences at the University of Miami. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

Issues of Cancer Survivorship addresses the issues of experiencing life with cancer, from diagnosis to living with and beyond cancer. It focuses on the psychological impact of cancer, including psychological distress, the uncertainty, the short-term and long-term side effects of treatments, body image issues, spirituality/religious issues, impact of the disease on finances, impact on family relationships, and social support. In addition, the book covers cancer in children and secondary cancers as a result of the treatment they received, which is increasingly an issue as patients are living longer.