anxiety – watercress words by Dr Aletha

My husband and I have almost lost count of the number of friends and family who have been diagnosed with cancer in the last few years. You may be able to say the same.

Some of them are doing well after grueling treatment regimens that sapped their strength and their hair. For some of them, we have celebrated their life with their loved ones at poignant memorial services.

Cancer touches all of us in some way. Whether it’s our own health or a family member, cancer robs us of time, freedom, peace of mind, and money. Cancer costs our society in terms of increasing insurance premiums, funding needed for research, and lost productivity.

Right now our best defense against cancer is prevention. We should all know the risk factors, especially those that pertain to us. We are learning that genetics contributes to many cases.

But lifestyle still remains the biggest variable that we can potentially control. Use of and exposure to tobacco, alcohol, ultraviolet light, workplace toxins, and diet should be targets in our cancer prevention efforts.

Cancer also takes an emotional and mental toll on those affected and their families. This article I am sharing from Iowa Public Radio via KFF Health News puts faces on this aspect of cancer,

More Americans Are Surviving Cancer. But the Mental Health Challenges Can Persist.

By Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio June 17, 2026

A woman with brown hair tied up in a bun stands inside a building near some windows. Snow is on the ground outside and people sit a large tables behind her. — Morgan Newman was diagnosed with stage 3 cervical cancer at age 24 but has been free of cancer free for a decade. She says she still deals with lingering fears of the cancer returning. (Natalie Krebs/Iowa Public Radio)

The cancer diagnosis came as a shock, disrupting Morgan Newman’s plans for launching her life. It was 2015, and she was working as a dental assistant in Des Moines, Iowa, while studying to become a social worker.

After an abnormal result on her Pap smear, her doctor brought her back in to check the tissue for signs of cancer. Newman wasn’t that concerned at first. She was only 24 years old.

“I didn’t think anything of it,” she said. Friends had received abnormal results, she recalled, “and they turned out to be OK.”

But during the follow-up examination, she started bleeding so heavily that the doctor stopped the exam and immediately referred her to a gynecologic oncologist. Newman soon learned she had cervical cancer. She had just moved into her own apartment for the first time.

An increasing number of Americans are getting — and surviving — cancer. There were more than 18 million cancer survivors in the U.S. in 2025, and the National Cancer Institute estimates that number will grow to 22 million by 2035. But long after completing treatment, many survivors face lingering mental health challenges that go unaddressed.

Newman underwent six weeks of radiation and chemotherapy. Her scans after that were clear until the six-month mark, when her doctors found suspicious nodules in her lungs.

Newman endured additional chemotherapy, which had more side effects. It was physically exhausting. But she was also struggling psychologically as she watched her friends hit significant adult milestones.

“My friends were getting married, they were having children, you know, progressing in their lives and their careers, and I just felt stuck,” she said.

Newman had done therapy before, for anxiety and depression. But after she got sick, she had to quit. Therapy was too expensive now that she had her other medical bills. And amid the doctor appointments, college courses, and her full-time job, she didn’t have the time.

Newman’s cancer treatment ended, and the scans remained clear. By 2017, she had a new job with better health benefits. So she decided she could go back to therapy.

She worried that every ache and pain could be the cancer coming back. At times, it was emotionally difficult to spend time with her friends who had kids, because the radiation treatment had damaged her reproductive system, leaving her unable to have her own children.

Now, almost 10 years later, Newman remains free of cancer, and cancer prevention has become her passion. She started a new job in December as the Iowa grassroots manager for the lobbying arm of the American Cancer Society, and she has served on the boards of other cancer organizations in Iowa.

But she continues to go to therapy to deal with the lingering anxiety, as well as the lingering effects of her treatment, such as her infertility.

“The fear of the unknown really takes over and can physically impact your body, as well as your mind,” she said. That question kept circling: “What if the cancer is back?”

Cancer’s ‘Silent’ Impacts

Studies show cancer survivors experience anxiety and depression that can last years after they finish treatment.

The advocacy group Cancer Nation surveyed patients nationwide last year. It found that about a third of those who had finished treatment reported anxiety about their cancer potentially coming back, as well as problems with not feeling like their “old self.” Only 1 in 5 of the surveyed survivors reported seeing a mental health professional.

Finding therapists who understand how cancer can affect people physically and emotionally can be a challenge, especially in states like Iowa. According to the Iowa Cancer Registry, the number of Iowans living five years after their diagnosis has increased about 0.4% each year since 2000, and the state has the second-highest rate of new cancer diagnoses. Researchers aren’t sure why, but the University of Iowa scientists who run the registry are taking a deep dive into the issue in a two-year, state-funded project.

Iowa is also largely rural. Some of the counties that have the highest cancer rates also have the fewest mental health workers. Newman went through several therapists before she was able to get an appointment with Julie Larson, a Des Moines-based therapist who works with a lot of cancer survivors.

“I just felt like I needed something more specific to what I was going through,” Newman said.

In Larson’s practice, it’s common for clients like Newman to start therapy months or even a year after finishing treatment, when they realize they aren’t feeling how they expected to feel.

“Physically, people’s bodies have changed,” Larson said. “And they are reconciling loss and grief. And those experiences are a little bit more silent, a little more invisible, and friends and family don’t often fully understand or grasp that.”

Larson said cancer survivors often seek her out because she understands cancer and the different forms of treatment people may have experienced.

“I’m not a doctor, but I’ve done this a long time. So I know what happens when people have Adriamycin. I know the treatment protocol for carboplatin,” she said, citing chemotherapy drugs.

A man in a dark blue suit jacket stands in front of a reception desk. A sign reading "MercyOne Richard Deming Cancer Center" is on the wall behind the desk. — Richard Deming, medical director at the MercyOne Richard Deming Cancer Center in Des Moines, Iowa, says the clinic has recently added services such as yoga and counseling to help cancer patients and survivors deal with mental health issues. (Natalie Krebs/Iowa Public Radio)

Oncology and Mental Health

When it comes to treating cancer, the field of oncology often neglects mental health, said Patricia Ganz, an oncologist and professor at the UCLA School of Public Health who has spent decades doing research on cancer survivors and their lingering challenges.

“We know how to give pills. We know how to give pain medicine, sleep medicines. But we’re not really schooled in the antidepressants,” she said.

There’s an increasing awareness about the need to screen for psychological distress in cancer patients and the need to provide mental health services for cancer patients and survivors, Ganz said, but expert-recommended screenings and referrals don’t always happen to the extent they should.

The MercyOne Richard Deming Cancer Center in Des Moines has started offering services such as counseling, music therapy, and mindfulness sessions to reduce stress for those in and out of treatment.

“You get cared for intensely when you’re getting treated for cancer,” By contrast, when people complete treatment, the care typically shifts: “It’s almost like, ‘You should feel fortunate that you’re cancer-free and just get on with your life.’”
Richard Deming

To treat cancer comprehensively, Deming said, doctors need to pay attention to far more than just physical symptoms. That requires a shift in the way doctors treat patients, he said.

“Every step along the way, whether it’s through diagnosis or treatment or follow-up, we have to ask, ‘What are the issues you’re experiencing?’” Deming said. “Not just: ‘Do you have cancer? Did we get rid of the cancer?’”

This article is from a partnership that includes Iowa Public Radio, NPR, and KFF Health News.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

This article first appeared on KFF Health News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

After You Hear It’s Cancer-a book review

“After You Hear It’s Cancer” by Dr. Lori Leifer and John Leifer offers a comprehensive guide for navigating cancer diagnosis and treatment. Drawing on personal experiences, the authors provide practical advice on various stages of cancer care, including diagnosis, treatment, and post-treatment challenges, along with resources for support and advocacy.

Keep reading

Points to Ponder

How has cancer touched your life in the past year? What did you learn from the experience? Did it prompt any changes in how you approach your own health?

What more information do you need about protecting yourself from cancer?

There is plentiful “advice” on line about cancer prevention and cures. But your best souce of counsel is still a physician who knows you. Seek advice from that person who has invested time, money, and thought into knowing the most about you and how best to help you.

Learn more about the cover photo at this link.

Celebrating Life after Cancer

Celebration of Life Mural-The mural was created to honor those surviving the disease of cancer. The mural’s tiles are inscribed by cancer survivors and represent the continuous flow of life.

Keep reading

Exploring the HEART of Health

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Dr. Aletha

In a recent post, I reviewed a new book, Your Kid Did What? by licensed counselor Paula Lau, LPC.

In the book subtitled “Strategies for Reclaiming Joy When Parenting Gets Tough” Paula revealed her anguish when faced with an unexpected life choice by her adult son. She shared how she used her Christian faith and training as a professional counselor to regain peace of mind and hope for the future.

Paula has been sharing parenting insights on Facebook and Instagram and she writes articles for local publications. I am sharing information from one of those articles with her permission in this post.

Adapted from The Anxiety Beast

by Paula M. Lau, LPC

It is not unusual to hear kids say they are “anxious” or “I have anxiety.” You may feel troubled when your child says this, but for most teens this has become a common part of their communication with one another and does not necessarily indicate a mental health diagnosis.

Adults tend to express anxiety by saying, “I am stressed.” All of us have been conditioned through television, social media, and other sources to think anxiety may be a symptom of mental illness that a medical professional must address.

Anxiety Can Be OK

We are trying desperately to avoid anxiety, but if you are alive, you are going to experience anxious feelings from time to time. We need to teach our children that feeling anxiety is okay and it is a normal part of the human condition.

Remember a movie about Gremlins, fictional creatures that grew exponentially in the right conditions? Anxiety can be a Gremlin with a propensity to grow if fed the proper diet.

Anxiety for teens can express itself in different ways.

physical complaints, such as head or stomach ache.
trouble sleeping
avoidance of activities or people

This can all be NORMAL behavior especially during the teenage years.

Handling Anxiety

If your child is telling you they feel anxious, here are things you can do to help

Explore the source

A conversation with your child allows them to tell you why they are feeling anxious. Be careful not to say, “Oh, that’s nothing! When I was your age…etc.” Asking questions like, “Tell me more about how you are feeling” gives your young person the opportunity to open up about their anxieties and fears.

Share your story

Let them know that being anxious is NORMAL , then tell them about times you were nervous at their age and how you overcame that fear.

Help them face their fears

After you find out why they are feeling anxious, you can talk about facing their fears. Let your young person know that adversity (anxiety) can make you stronger as you face your fears.

Tell them you believe they are capable and competent. Fear is an opportunity for them to grow in new ways even though the experience may be uncomfortable for a season.

Desensitization

Is there a way to expose your child to what they fear in a modified format until they are more comfortable? For instance, if they are nervous about going to high school, call the school and tour the facility before the first day of school.

Finding a non-threatening way to expose your child to the things they fear can help them process their feelings.

Allow them to problem-solve

Be careful not to helicopter in and fix stressful situations for your child. (There can be exceptions to this rule, but situations where you need to intervene are far less common.) Kids might see themselves as “broken’ and “not up to the task.”

Remember the teenage years (starting in middle school) are critically important when a young person begins to form their identity. They need to work out their problems with their friends, and teachers.

Your child will become competent as they sort their way through life and figure out what works and what doesn’t. That will require some anxiety on their behalf and yours!

Learning from anxiety

Parents must develop a tolerance for their child’s anxiety. We must let go so our children find their way in difficult circumstances. This can take amazing self-control, but our children benefit as they learn they can successfully face life challenges.

Paula’s book is also available at this link on Amazon.