ABSTRACT
Emotions trigger physical responses in our bodies that can cause a range of sensations (e.g. gut disturbance, tight muscles, panic responses, itching, feeling very cold, etc.). Unpleasant though these are, they are perfectly normal and are unlikely to be a sign that our cancer is growing faster or spreading. Doctors and nurses are seldom trained in psychology. Some will understand the impact of the fact that the women are in shock and want to consider our feelings, but others won’t. The reality is that even oncologists and specialist nurses, who work with women with breast cancer all the time, can only understand how women's are feeling up to a point, unless they have been diagnosed themselves, but most of them will try to understand. The role of a counsellor at the point would be to understand our situation as best they can and to support the women by talking about whatever they want to raise.
