The Feeling of Cancer

A psychotherapist’s story of living with incurable cancer.

IN 2023 I was fifty-three and living and working in New Zealand as a psychotherapist when I was diagnosed with an incurable blood cancer. As someone who’s made a career from helping people manage their feelings at times of crisis, I could never have imaged the emotional impact cancer would have on me. Whilst treatment attends to the problems with the body, the wider, deeper emotional effects of living with cancer are left for us to deal with as we try to get on with our everyday life. I’ve found that not only does cancer disrupt your health, your family, your income, your relationships, your future – every aspect of your life, in fact – it strikes at the very heart of your identity. Cancer threatens to rob you of who you are, by shattering your emotional landscape.

Author: Sandra Russell