When it comes to surviving here and now and getting through the next treatment, the next day, the next week, there isn’t much room to think about the future. That is why it is no wonder that the cancer hangover often doesn’t hit until later, when treatment is over and you are expected to return to “normal.” But what is normal? Being declared cancer-free in medical terms does not mean you are free from the consequences the illness has brought with it. Being cancer-free is not the same as being free from all the thoughts and feelings that the cancer has awakened either. Rather, it is about trying to find your way to the new normal. Doing your best to return to a more ordinary life again, while also finding ways to live with all the feelings, thoughts, and other consequences that the cancer has caused in your life.
The concept of the cancer hangover is about life after a cancer diagnosis that often does not turn out as you had imagined. The illness can leave physical and psychological scars that take a long time to heal. This can, for example, involve living with severe anxiety, an inability to have children, or not daring to show your body.
I was very unprepared for the cancer hangover. It was difficult for those around me to understand what was going on…