When you hear the words that you have cancer, lots of things change. Some of them won't be that bad, but a lot of them will straight up suck. Saying that your life will never be the same again isn't a stretch. It's not ALL going to be terrible, but here are 12 hard truths about having cancer. 

1) Your Old Life Is Gone - From the time of your diagnosis until you're done with treatment and move on into survivorship, things will not be the same. Some people lose their jobs because of...

You have been given the three-word sentence that none of us ever wants to hear... YOU HAVE CANCER! For many of us, your head is spinning and you may not even be able to hear anything else that the Dr. tells you after that. The information starts coming at you like water out of a hose drowning you in the face. 

They will tell you the type of cancer, the location, eventually, they will tell you the stage, and maybe a plan of treatment. One common part of treatment is chemotherapy. There...

After you get the cancer diagnosis, the next thing you usually get is a plan of treatment. A road map of what's going to happen, when and approximately how long they expect it to take. Keep in mind that this treatment plan is subject to change when problems, side effects or other issues pop up, and they usually do! They will tell you lots of things to expect, but these are some things that happened, that we didn't expect from cancer treatments, but wish we did. 

The term "treatments"...

The fogginess. The forgetfulness. The feeling of cluelessness. That’s chemo brain, one of the most frustrating side effects of cancer treatment. There’s even an official name for it – bet you didn’t know that. It’s called “Post-Chemotherapy Cognitive Impairment.”

Of course, cancer patients probably have some more colorful ways to describe the condition, but it wouldn’t be polite to print those here.

One of the problems with chemo brain is that because it’s been given a familiar name, those...

Answer: In most cases, it takes about 3-10 months after the end of chemotherapy treatment for hair to grow back.

Radiation is a standard part of treatment for a large group of cancer types. Sometimes combined with chemotherapy, sometimes used on its own, and even sometimes with a mixture of other traditional treatments, surgery, and drugs. There are several hidden side effects that you may or may not be told to expect. Some of them show up quickly, but many wait years to show up. Some can be life threatening. 

You will find many people that say radiation was much easier to take than chemotherapy...

According to the National Cancer Institute, cancer patients are twice as likely to experience insomnia, and almost half of cancer patients have trouble sleeping or staying asleep. Fears of the future and uncertainty about treatments are troubling ideas that would keep anyone awake. However, lack of sleep is highly detrimental to your body and is shown to determine how well your body can fight cancer and promote recovery and progression.

Benefits of Sleep

We all need sleep to help rejuvenate...

Understanding How These 4 Panic Attack Triggers Affect Cancer Patients

Panic attacks can further deteriorate the quality of life for those who have cancer. It may be difficult to assess the role of anxiety as it tends to be intertwined with other aspects of a cancer diagnosis, but patients may feel panic throughout initial screenings for cancer, as anticipatory anxiety can settle in when waiting for results. Panic attacks often have different symptoms for individual people, but they are...

A cancer diagnosis can cause a whirlwind of questions and emotions. Often the specifics of the road ahead are unknown. Many WhatNexters agree that it felt easier once they found out more, got familiar with treatment plans, and found ways to stay positive and cope in their everyday life.

“I took it one thing at a time. I keep thinking each procedure, each treatment, is one more step towards recovery and that keeps me moving forward.” -- Beannie, Breast Cancer, Stage I

...

Chemotherapy is notorious for its side effects. But while hair loss, vomiting, and diarrhea get all the attention, there’s one lesser-known side effect that can be just as tough: acne.

It’s true: your chemo treatment might end up taking your face on a time trip back to those thrilling days of puberty. Who says chemo can’t make you feel young again?

It might seem minor, but the reemergence of facial acne during cancer treatment is an added source of low self-esteem for patients. You can get a...