Last May, Jennifer Frezza was diagnosed with breast cancer. His treatments ended in September, but the fear of seeing the disease resurface remains “constant and overwhelming”. To learn to live with this fear, since Wednesday she has been participating in a new group therapy at the McGill University Health Center (MUHC) in Montreal.
The fear of a recurrence manifests itself in the “little everyday things,” says M.me Frezza. “When I have a headache or back pain, it’s usually nothing, and before I had this illness, I would take a Tylenol pill and go about my day normally. But now it’s like all of a sudden I’m putting my life on pause wondering if the cancer is coming back. It’s horrible,” adds the 52-year-old Montrealer.
With nine other women consumed by the same fears, Jennifer Frezza must take part in six sessions lasting one and a half to two hours. These meetings, led by a multidisciplinary team, must take place at the Royal Victoria Hospital of the MUHC.
The participants, who are aged 45 to 67, have in common the fact that they have completed treatment for cancer of the breast or the female reproductive system, such as that of the cervix or ovaries. “The fear of a recurrence affects everyone who has had cancer, but it generally affects women more,” explains Samara Perez, psychologist in the MUHC psychosocial oncology program.
Talking about your fears in group therapy can help reduce anxiety, underlines the woman who is also an associate researcher at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center (lR-MUHC). After their treatments end, many patients feel alone, she continues. “The idea is to help them re-establish a routine and support them in their return to work, for example. »
The new program at the MUHC is based on research led by Sophie Lebel, professor at the School of Psychology at the University of Ottawa, and Christine Maheu, associate professor at the Ingram School of Nursing at McGill University and researcher in the RI-MUHC cancer research program.
In Canada, four other hospital centers were based on M’s study.mes Lebel and Maheu in order to set up sessions about the fear of recurrence. These are the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, the Ottawa Hospital, Cancer Care Eastern Health in Newfoundland and Labrador, and Cancer Care in Manitoba.
Tolerate uncertainty
The goal of the sessions is to develop tolerance for fear and uncertainty, says Samara Perez, who is also an assistant professor in the Department of Oncology in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at McGill University. “You can’t completely eliminate these emotions, it’s not realistic. Instead, we try to tell ourselves that we will live with these fears and that there will be difficult times. »
To achieve this, the 10 women will learn different coping strategies aimed at managing the fear of recurrence, mindfulness exercises and several relaxation techniques in preparation for magnetic resonance imaging exams. A nurse will also give them information about the symptoms of recurrence to watch for and medical follow-ups after the end of treatment for cancer.
It will also be a question of identifying certain thought patterns that can keep a person in a constant state of anxiety, such as “black or white” thinking, explains the psychologist. “This manifests itself, for example, when someone will immediately believe that the cancer has returned if they experience certain symptoms. We want to be more in the gray, and not in the extremes. There are few things in life that we know for sure. »
When anxiety builds up, it can become suffocating, says Jennifer Frezza, lowering her voice. “I sometimes start to question everything: “Will I see my two children get married? Will I know my grandchildren? Will I achieve all the goals I set for myself?” »
By participating in the program, Mme Frezza hopes to be able to “reclaim his body and his mind”. She wants to learn to live better with the physical and emotional consequences of her illness. “When cancer treatments end, the patient journey continues. This will be part of our lives for the rest of our days,” she says.
After these six meetings which began Wednesday at the MUHC, a second cohort will begin group therapy in spring 2025. “Our goal is to make it a service that will always be available and accessible here,” says Ms.me Perez. Life is precious, full of happiness, but also difficult. If I can help a patient improve their quality of life, I have done my job well. »
