Cancer and resilience: how to build capacity to face challenges

Cancer and resilience: how to build the capacity to face the challenge is one of the most serious challenges in life – When cancer occurs, resilience becomes an indispensable force for patients and their families. Resiliency, or psychological resilience, refers to the ability of individuals to adapt and recover in the face of adversity, stress, failure or threat. For cancer patients, the development and enhancement of resilience not only helps to improve their mental health, but also improves their ability to cope with the physical and emotional challenges of disease.First, reflecting on the challenges of the past is an important step in fostering resilience. Cancer patients can look back at their lives before diagnosis and think about how they cope with past difficulties and setbacks. By identifying and analysing their coping strategies in adversity, patients can better understand their behaviour patterns and psychological responses. For example, some patients may find that they have in the past reduced their stress by exercising, writing journals or communicating with friends in the face of work pressure or family problems. These strategies also apply during the treatment of cancer and can be further developed and optimized.Secondly, self-awareness is key to improving resilience. Self-awareness includes understanding of their emotions, thoughts and behaviours, and how they affect themselves and others. Cancer patients can increase their self-awareness through meditation, active exercise or psychological counselling. These methods help patients to become more aware of their inner world and thus to make more calm and rational decisions in the face of disease.Participation in support groups is another effective way to increase resilience. Support groups provide a safe environment for cancer patients to share their feelings and experiences with others experiencing similar challenges. In such groups, patients not only receive emotional support, but also learn from the experience of others about practical coping strategies. For example, they may be aware of certain relaxing techniques, nutritional advice or treatment options, which may be difficult to obtain elsewhere. In addition, support groups help patients to establish new social links, reduce feelings of isolation and promote a sense of social belonging.Learning from active self-dialogue is also crucial to fostering resilience. People with cancer often experience self-doubt and negative emotions and learn to replace these negative self-dialogues with positive and encouraging words, which can significantly improve their emotional state and resilience. For example, when patients feel helpless, they can remind themselves that “I have successfully overcome many difficulties before, and I can cope with them this time”. Through this active self-dialogue, patients can increase their confidence and better face the uncertainties and challenges of treatment.Fostering optimism is also an important aspect of enhancing resilience. Optimism does not mean neglecting the difficulties in reality, but rather maintaining hope and a positive outlook in the face of difficulties. Cancer patients can develop optimism in many ways, such as setting small goals, celebrating every small victory and focusing on the positive aspects of life. Optimistic attitudes help patients to remain proactive, rather than passive, in the face of disease.Finally, active development of resilience means that patients need continuous learning and adaptation. Cancer treatment and rehabilitation is an evolving process, and patients need to learn to be flexible in their response to situations. This may include learning new health habits, adapting to new lifestyles or acquiring new coping techniques. Through continuous learning and adaptation, patients can better control their own lives and reduce the uncertainty and passivity associated with disease.In sum, cancer patients can effectively develop and enhance their resilience by reflecting on past challenges, enhancing self-awareness, participating in support groups, learning positive self-dialogues and fostering optimism. Resistance not only helps them to better cope with the challenges and pressures posed by cancer, but also improves their quality of life, making their journey more resilient and hopeful.