(Adnkronos) - “La donna che riceve una diagnosi di tumore al seno metastatico vive una fase di profondo shock e di profondo disagio. Il rientro al lavoro è un momento molto delicato perché, se da una parte rappresenta un primo passo di ritorno alle abitudini e ad una normalità, è anche un momento stressante. Diventa sempre più centrale la figura dello psico-oncologo che svolge un ruolo di accoglienza, di supporto, di affiancamento e orientamento emotivo”. Così la psico-oncologa Pauline Emma Dimastromatteo racconta ai microfoni dell’Adnkronos Salute .
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00:00The women who receive the metastatic breast cancer diagnosis live a phase of profound shock, of profound discomfort, an emotional distress that changes the perception of their own life, of their own relationships and of themselves.
00:26The figure of the oncologist therefore becomes more and more central.
00:31The woman is disoriented because from the phase of the diagnosis to the phase of the subsequent treatment, she often does not even have time to elaborate what is happening.
00:40So the oncologist has the role of offering a space of listening, a welcoming space that can guide her to listen to what are new needs, to listen to what are emotions of new discomfort, of suffering, of fatigue, of fear.
00:59On the one hand, there is the need to understand how, for example, to experience the change of one's own body, of one's own bodily image, but also how to experience, for example, the concerns of people who are around the woman.
01:14So more intimate relationships with children, partners, with family.
01:18Many researches recognize how the role of the caregiver, the role of the partner, of a family member, is essential in favoring a good adaptation to the disease of the person.
01:32Breast cancer is one of the most widespread tumors among women around the world.
01:37The metastatic tumor diagnosis, however, is associated with the anxiety of incurability.
01:42In reality, the advancement of treatments tells us that the metastatic breast tumor is also curable, because the life expectancy has increased, and therefore it is associated with a state of chronic disease.
01:57However, women, despite these encouraging facts, find themselves facing a very uncertain look towards the future, very frightened, very precarious, and therefore the psychological impact is very strong.
02:15Psychological interventions of a supportive, expressive nature, but also of a psychoeducational nature in a group, can become those interventions that support the woman to take care of the most emotional part, which has an impact on the disease.
02:37Therefore, a woman who takes care of her life, who does not identify with the disease, but who integrates different aspects, different phases of her life, different areas of her life, is a woman who improves her immune responses.
02:52The new therapies available for the treatment of the metastatic breast tumor have expanded the life expectancy and therefore opened up the possibility of returning to work for patients.
03:18Certainly, returning to work is a very delicate moment. The first step is certainly self-awareness and also the awareness of one's own limits, as well as the legitimation of one's own limits, because being subjected to life-saving treatments means having exhausted one's own body, but also one's own cognitive processes,
03:42as well as having exhausted the whole emotional and psychological sphere. Therefore, recognizing fatigue, fatigue, recognizing the difficulty in concentrating, recognizing the difficulty in adapting to a working environment, also becomes a way of taking care of a new process of adaptation.
04:06To deepen the topic, the site is available and Tempo di Vita, a project promoted by Novartis to support all women who face an advanced breast tumor.