Emotional support for breast cancer is just as important

Breast cancer patients need more than just physical support, doctor says

When you hear the words breast cancer it's overwhelming. We'll talk about how doctors are helping patients not just medically but emotionally.

FOX 2 - Surviving a breast cancer diagnosis requires plenty of medical treatments but doctors also understand how important emotional support can be.

The backstory:

Dr. Radhika Takiar, Trinity Health, is on the front lines of curing breast cancer but she also knows the value of emotional healing.

"We have long talks about long discussions about what to anticipate and it's good to have good support system," said Takiar. "We link them with oncology social workers making sure they have family support and anything they need."

Getting a diagnosis of breast cancer can lead to a wide range of emotions from sadness, to loneliness and fear.

"Many women are going through mastectomies or lump breast loss, hair loss, we need to talk about realities and chemotherapy can lead to hair loss depending on the type, and that too, is very challenging," she said.

The treatments, while life-saving, can also be life-altering — especially for younger women.

"One of the things I ask every patient is their plans for children," said Takiar. "Make sure they meet with gyno for fertility preservation."

The goal is to make sure the mental impact of battling breast cancer doesn't leave invisible scars.

"The goal is to get rid of breast cancer, good survival but also focus on quality of life and keep whatever sense of normalcy we can with patients," she said.

Connecting with others and finding support is one of the most important methods to help process emotions. That's why seeing pink in October, or gathering either in person or even online can be so helpful.