Stress and cancer

It is natural to feel a range of emotions after a cancer diagnosis, throughout the stages of treatment and when living beyond cancer. Some people may notice that they feel low, others may feel angry or frustrated, stressed or anxious. This page focuses on the experience of stress but for more general information on the psychological impact of cancer you can go to emotional and psychological wellbeing, or specific pages on mood, anxiety, loneliness or body image concerns.

Stress is something most people experience at some point in their lives, and usually occurs when we feel under pressure or threatened by something. A small amount of stress can feel helpful and motivating. But if stress lasts for a long period or is intense, then it can feel difficult to live with. Stress is not a mental health problem but can lead to feelings of anxiety and low mood in some people.

When people are diagnosed with cancer, during or after treatment it is very natural to feel heightened levels of stress. This can be for many reasons including worry about treatment and prognosis, uncertainty about the future, physical changes to your body, relationship pressures, feeling a lack of control or due to concerns about finances, work or caring responsibilities.

Stress can cause many different symptoms, including:

Physical symptoms:

• headaches or dizziness
• muscle tension or pain
• stomach problems
• chest pain or a faster heartbeat
• sexual problems

Mental symptoms:

• difficulty concentrating
• struggling to make decisions
• feeling overwhelmed
• constantly worrying
• being forgetful

Changes in behaviour

• being irritable and snappy
• sleeping too much or too little
• eating too much or too little
• avoiding certain places or people
• drinking or smoking more

It can sometimes be difficult to differentiate what is a symptom of stress, anxiety or cancer and its treatment.

In addition to the general tips about managing your emotional wellbeing at psychological wellbeing, it may be helpful to consider the following specific tips for managing stress:

• Talk to others about your worries and concerns. That may include family and friends, peer support groups, your cancer team or a psychological professional
• Tap into existing coping strategies for things that have helped when you have felt stressed before
• Engaging in relaxation, mindfulness and breathing exercises can help with feelings of stress. For information on mindfulness: Mindfulness – NHS. For relaxation and breathing exercises: Relaxation and breathing exercises | Maggie’s
• Try writing your worries or thoughts down, or journaling to help process them. This can also be helpful at bedtime if you are having trouble sleeping
• Try to prioritise your health – try to eat a balanced diet, get enough sleep and engage in exercise. See lifestyle and health promotion pages.
• Try to engage in activities you love. It may be due to cancer that you cannot engage in all the activities you usually would, but if you can try to think about how you can make adjustments to activities to be able to do something you enjoy
• Prioritise and break down tasks if you are feeling overwhelmed
• Say no to things if it is too much to take on
• Ask for help. If you are usually independent people may not always offer help straight away, but remember it is ok to ask for extra support if you need it
• If you are struggling with unhelpful thoughts, you can see an audio guide for tips on how to manage this at: Mental wellbeing audio guides – NHS
• For advice on concerns about finances see: FINANCES page
• For advice on returning to work see: WORK PAGE
• For advice on returning to education see: EDUCATION PAGE

Resources

Stress and cancer | Maggie’s

Self-care and managing stress and building resilience | Mind

Stress – Every Mind Matters – NHS

Mental wellbeing audio guides – NHS

https://lymphoma-action.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/documents/2025-05/LYMweb0083Stress2025v7.pdf   Booklet on lymphoma and stress. Although specific to people with a lymphoma diagnosis, there are general tips which someone with any cancer diagnosis may find helpful

The emotional effects of cancer audiobook | Macmillan Cancer Support

Or

MAC11593 How are you feeling? The emotional effects of cancer

Further support

It is natural to feel stressed when living with and beyond cancer, and often this will improve over time. However, if you are struggling and the tips on this page do not help then please do reach out for help.

Peer support:

Peer support can often be helpful, especially when people feel alone in their experience. There are a range of support groups available, you can speak to your cancer team about this for advice or look online

Cancer self-help and support groups | Macmillan Cancer Support

Psychological therapy:

Psychological therapy can be useful, and usually involves meeting with someone one to one or in a group. Therapists may use a variety of techniques to support you including (but not limited to) ideas from cognitive behavioural therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy and compassion focused therapy.

You can ask your cancer team for a referral to the Macmillan Cancer Psychological Support Team (CaPS) at St George’s Hospital if you are a patient under their care. Alternatively, you can speak to your GP about psychological therapy available, including your local Talking Therapies service.

You can find information about the CaPS team at: Macmillan Cancer Psychological Support (CaPS) Team – St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

You can find your local talking therapies service at:

Find NHS talking therapies for anxiety and depression – NHS

Support from cancer charities:

Maggie’s Centres offer a range of psychological support including support groups, drop-in services, workshops and courses, and one to one psychological therapy: Our centres | Maggie’s. They specifically run a 6-week ‘managing stress’ course. You can either drop in, email or call them.

Macmillan offer a free support line on 0808 808 00 00, or you can email them for support: Emotional, financial and physical help for people with cancer | Macmillan Cancer Support

Community Mental Health Teams:

If you are already receiving support for your mental health, tell your team or therapist about your cancer diagnosis and how this is impacting you. For more information on this you can go to Community Mental Health teams webpage

GP

You can speak to your GP about your stress. They may be able to support you in thinking about onward referrals or medication.

Thoughts of harming yourself or ending your life

For some people when they are facing a difficult time, they can have thoughts of harming themselves or ending their life. If you ever experience this, please seek immediate support via the Samaritans (116 123) for someone to talk with, ask for an emergency GP appointment, call 111 who can connect you with your local 24-hour mental health crisis team, or visit A&E.  You are not alone.