Grief and Loss

The word "grief" comes from the Latin gravare, to burden, and is defined as "deep mental anguish from affliction or loss." We know that grief is a natural response to loss. What we may not know or may not have thought about are the many emotions involved in the process of grieving or the many different types of loss that cancer survivors and their families can experience. Grief can include feelings of shock, denial, anger, guilt and depression. These feelings may come over us in any order and in any combination. They may be felt not only by survivors but by other people in the family. The types of loss cancer survivors and their families can experience are also varied. Read more about different types of loss.... Each person's experience with and response to grief is also different just as the loss of any particular thing may affect two people in very different ways. Read some comments from survivors.

Over time, grief and the feelings that often accompany it lessen and become less frequent. When you are struggling with the more intense periods of grief, try to reach out for help from a friend, family member, pastor, therapist, support group or member of the healthcare team. Talking about your feelings can help ease the pain and can help you get to the end of the grieving process which, in turn, can bring acceptance and growth.

For more information for parents, click here.

Greg Adams, a grief specialist social worker, puts it this way: "You don’t get to choose about having cancer, but you do get to choose how you will handle having cancer." Click here to listen to our archived internet conference by Greg about strategies for coping with loss or click here to order a free copy of the conference on a CD.

Greg’s website is dedicated to providing support through education and grief support programs.