Coping with womb cancer

It can be very difficult coping with a diagnosis of cancer, both practically and emotionally. At first, you are likely to feel very upset, frightened and confused. Or that things are out of your control. It is very important to get the right information about your type of womb cancer and how it is best treated. People who are well informed about their illness and treatment are more able to make decisions and cope with what happens.

Cancer of the womb and its treatment may cause physical changes to your body. These changes can be very difficult to cope with and may affect the way you feel about yourself. They may affect the way you relate to other people, especially close family and friends. Another problem you may have to cope with is feeling very tired and lethargic a lot of the time. This may be for a while after treatment or because the cancer is advanced. There is information about fatigue and cancer and treating cancer fatigue in the section on coping physically with cancer.

If you are having a sexual relationship, the changes to your womb area may affect your sex life. There is information about changes in your sex life in this section.

You may have to come to terms with losing your fertility. You may feel very upset about having your womb removed (hysterectomy), even if you were not planning any pregnancies or have reached the menopause. There is information about coping with infertility after womb cancer treatment in this section.

As well as coping with the fear and anxiety that a diagnosis of womb cancer brings, you may also have to work out how to manage practically. There may be money matters to sort out. You may need information about financial support, such as benefits, sick pay and grants. As well as possibly qualifying for some state benefits, such as sick pay, you may be able to get a grant for any major expense due to your illness. For example, if you have lymphoedema and need to buy new clothes for a swollen leg, you may be able to get help from Macmillan Cancer Support. They offer grants for one off expenses for people with cancer.

Who do you tell that you have cancer? And how do you find the words? You may also have children to think about. We have information about talking to people about your cancer and how and what to tell children.

It may help to remember that you do not have to sort everything out at once. It may take some time to deal with each issue. Do ask for help if you need it though. It is likely that your doctor or clinical nurse specialist will know who you can contact to get some help – they can put you in touch with people specially trained in supporting people with cancer. These people are there to help and want you to feel that you have support. So use them if you feel you need to.

The coping with cancer section has lots of helpful information. There are sections about

• Your feelings
• How you can help yourself
• Who else can help you?
• Mortgages, pensions, loans and insurance, including travel insurance

If you would like more detailed information about coping, contact one of the organisations in our womb cancer organisations page. They will be happy to help. They often have free factsheets and booklets they can send to you. They may also be able to put you in touch with a support group. There is also a womb cancer reading list.

You can also contact our cancer information nurses. They would be happy to help.

You can also find details of counselling organisations that can tell you more about counselling and help you find sources of emotional support in your area.