Writing Therapy Helps Cancer Patients Face Fear

Writing therapy helps cancer patients overcome fear and anxiety related to their disease.

KOMPAS/WAWAN H PRABOWO

Medical personnel analyze lung cancer X-rays from patients undergoing treatment at the Persahabatan Teaching Hospital's Lung Clinic in Jakarta on Friday (3/3/2017). As many as 90 percent of lung cancer patients have a history of being smokers.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Cancer patients are often haunted by fear of the disease they suffer from. It is not uncommon for this fear to cause anxiety and depression. Recent research at the University of Colorado Boulder, United States, revealed that writing therapy helps terminal cancer patients face these fears.

The results of this research report were published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine in April 2024. In this study, dozens of stage III and IV cancer patients were asked to share their feelings about the worst case scenario of their illness. After that, patients write down their plans for dealing with it to present a better scenario.

Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder, Joanna Arch, said it is easier to write about something traumatic than to express it out loud. "Our findings show that participants can write their way to better health, thus helping to reduce trauma, depression, anxiety, and cancer-related fears," she said as quoted from Eurekalert.org, Tuesday (23/4/2024).

KOMPAS/AYU SULISTYOWATI

Visitors enjoy the works of people with schizophrenia at Rumah Berdaya Denpasar, Denpasar City, Bali, on Saturday (20/1/2018) afternoon. The house is a place for rehabilitating people with schizophrenia through the arts, including writing poetry.

Writing down various worries about illness may be scary for some people. However, for cancer patients who struggle with anxiety and other mental health problems, this method can be a needed therapy.

Arch developed a therapy known as write exposure-based coping (EASE) to fill a critical gap in mental health services. According to the National Cancer Institute, nearly 700,000 people in the US have metastatic cancer.

Also read: Music Therapy Helps Relieve Chronic Pain

Some mental health therapies have been designed to assist early-stage curable cancer patients. However, they are not free from the shadow of fear related to the cancer's progression towards worse health.

“Their fears are very real, but they are often afraid of something that fortunately will never happen,” says Arch.

Writing down various worries about illness may be scary for some people. However, this method can be a form of therapy.

When Arch spoke with a number of terminal cancer patients, many of them realized that they could ultimately pass away due to their illness. According to them, the available treatment offers did not match their expectations.

"These patients live in strong uncertainty regarding their future, related to treatments that may stop working. Their experiences are very different and their attention is far less," he said.

For most of the patients in the study, their worst fear often arises from not having anyone close to talk to about the illness they are suffering from. The role of family is very important in helping patients cope with the anxiety they are facing and preventing depression.

Also read: Hyperbaric Therapy Could Be an Alternative Treatment for Covid-19 Complications

KOMPAS/MARIA SUSY BERINDRA

The Taufan Community, founded by Yeni Dewi Mulyaningsih, often holds events to entertain children with cancer.

Arch added that the therapy may not necessarily be suitable for everyone. More research is still needed so that it can be recommended more widely.

One of the research participants, Melissa Sanchez, said that she felt healthier and did not experience panic after undergoing writing therapy. The mother of four has undergone three surgeries and 16 immunotherapies for her stage III melanoma.

"I remember the first day when I only cried. There was a voice that came out of me that I didn't even realize. The voice was buried so deep inside. Writing it down helped me control my emotions. I feel at peace with various things now," she said.