Demons of the Mind- PTSD and Mental Health Concerns - July 2014 chat

This month we discussed the mental health issues (anxiety, fear, depression, PTSD) that gynecologic cancer survivors may experience and suggested ways to cope with those issues. We were joined by our mental health moderator, Dr Ann Becker-Schutte, as well as a number of other health care professionals and survivors. We had 43 participants total and a total of 582 tweets in the hour. Additional analytics may be found here.

The night's topic questions were:

T1: What are the signs of emotional distress? How do you know when it is time to get additional help?

T2: How often is emotional state discussed during patient visits? Is it asked about during cancer care appointments?

T3a: What situations for you have led to emotional distress? What are some key triggers?

T3b: What do you do that helps you through times of distress? What are some resources?

T4: Once beyond treatment, many survivors continue 2 worry & have feelings that impact daily living.  What can survivors do to cope?

T5: Living with uncertainty of a recurrence is difficult. What have you found helpful?

T6 (1/2): When we connect w/ others impacted by cancer, there is the reality of loss & also guilt re: surviving when others don't.

T6 (2/2): What keeps you connecting? What helps you cope?

If you missed the chat a complete transcript is found here. 

Our next chat topic is Where to go for support . We hope you can join us on Wednesday, August 13, 2014 at 9pm EST. 

Mental Health Resources: 

American Cancer Society Cancer Treatment & Survivorship Facts & Figures 2012-2013
http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@epidemiologysurveilance/documents/document/acspc-033876.pdf

Communications skills training for health care professionals working with people who have cancer - PubMed http://t.co/oiYAe6f8lN

NCI Fact Sheet Psychological Stress and Cancer      

http://t.co/wCYyypOWen

Cancer Care Support Services

http://t.co/xBP3sug7MS

LiveSTRONG Survivor Care and Survivorship Notebook

http://t.co/RxdvHZxYNL

American Psychosocial Oncology Society http://t.co/9YqwvcDnwW Harvard Health Blog - The mental and emotional challenges of surviving cancer http://t.co/xFwdPpbil1 Dealing with Recurrence | @NOCC_National Education Series Video  http://t.co/1nLfjvPoZH Oncology Nursing Society Study on Cancer Survivors’ Concerns - ONS Connect http://t.co/y5xFfLuWLG Starbrydge Online Health Magazine "Top things to know about recovering from cancer" http://t.co/2pBA4o6yya Coping Magazine - “Cancer PTSD”  http://t.co/4tEde6Wmco Physical & Mental Health Among Cancer Survivors: Considerations for Long-Term Care & Quality of Life http://t.co/tebhokKFhq  Perceived health care provider reaction to patient and caregiver use of online health communities http://t.co/iN33l5MgA7

A literature review of the social and psychological needs of ovarian cancer survivors.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23760742

Living With Uncertainty | @NOCC_National Education Series Video

http://t.co/AdolRj7eXZ

Thank you to everyone who has been using the #gyncsm hashtag and tweeting reminders about our chat.

Dee

Co-moderator