Dealing with fear or doubt about treatment choices

When public figures share their personal healthcare choices, media coverage can be valuable to draw attention to important issues and start discussions in the community.

However, as we have seen in the past week, statements by high-profile people often negatively affect those who have experienced breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.

These statements may:

• unintentionally create doubt, fear, or shame
• cause fears about cancer coming back or progressing
• lead people to question their evidence-based treatment plans
• result in emotion-based decisions about treatment pathways or second-guessing evidence-based treatment protocols.

Our priority at BCNA is to connect you to information you can trust, so you feel empowered and informed in your choices around your treatment.

We are also here with support, if you need some extra help at this time.

Ways to recognise, manage and overcome emotions

In this video, Clinical Psychologist Dr Charlotte Tottman and BCNA CEO Kirsten Pilatti discuss ways to recognise, manage and overcome emotions that the recent coverage may have caused. It includes qualified advice and strategies on how to manage what you may be feeling.  

Note:  The intention is not to provoke unwanted emotions, but to provide information which may assist your wellbeing at this time. Please only proceed if you are comfortable with potentially sensitive topics around breast cancer. 

Common feelings and reactions to media coverage

There is a risk that wide media coverage of one person’s treatment choices could make others questions their own choices.

It is not uncommon to feel anxiety, fear and worry at what you are seeing or hearing. Some people feel anger or rage that their choices or views are not being respected.

Others start to wonder if they are to blame for their diagnosis or doubt that they have made the right decision.

Dr Charlotte Tottman, a clinical psychologist with lived experience of breast cancer, has felt some of these emotions herself.

“This has been a really big week for people,” said Charlotte. “because this is about big stuff … about life and death.

“This brings out really big responses in cancer patients like anxiety and worry and fear. [I felt] like my experience was trivialised. It felt like it was overly simplistic, and it felt a little disrespectful and I didn’t like that.”