Guest post by Mike Linn. Opinions are those of the author.

Being a cancer patient is easily the most stressful thing I’ve ever gone through. Combining holiday stress with my diagnosis has been a unique challenge, but one that can be rewarding when managed properly. 

I wish I had known what I was facing (both from a treatment plan and social perspective) during my first year as a patient. Now that I’m seven holiday seasons into being a cancer patient, I believe I can help you navigate this uniquely stressful time.

Here are some tips on how to spread holiday cheer while you adjust to a new normal.

Why the Holidays are More Stressful for Cancer Patients

Even for healthy people, the holidays represent a time in which we can be stretched thin by stressors such as:

  • Travel plans
  • Financial burden
  • Family obligations
  • Poor diet & fitness
  • Lack of sleep
  • The holidays in general (**gestures wildly**)

Cancer creates its own unique burden in that it changes how patients must live while simultaneously being a very sensitive topic for friends, family, and strangers alike. Add treatment variables, diminished bandwidth, feeling crappy, and other disease-related stress, and you’ve got yourself a complex gift to unwrap.

How to Cope With Holiday Stress as a Cancer Patient

One of the first things I tell newly diagnosed people is that until you’re healthy, you should treat being a cancer patient like it is your primary job.

This isn’t always achievable, given there are dependents, actual jobs (ugh), and familial duties that can often tip the scales of our attention. However, for the sake of making it out of the holiday season with your sanity, I will reiterate: prioritize your treatment and status as a patient.

Some ways to do this and still have an enjoyable holiday season include:

  • Plan Ahead: Whether you’re a new patient or a seasoned veteran, it’s important to acknowledge the demands of being in cancer treatment. Planning around things like labs, scans, treatment dates, and doctor visits will make life less stressful as you travel or host.
  • Travel at Your Own Pace: I am perpetually surprised at how a once-easy drive from Central California to San Diego can wipe me out for a couple of days now. If you’re on the road, make sure to build in rest stops, schedule buffer time around flights, and more time in general so that your travel schedule doesn’t push your physical and emotional boundaries.
  • Communicate Your Needs in Advance: Taking care of your health is your number one priority. This means that your friends and family can and should be willing to support you, and not just once you arrive. If you need special accommodations for your treatment plan or side effects, make sure to let them be known in advance so that you aren’t left scrambling once the holidays are here.
  • Try to Eat Healthy: The holidays are notoriously a time of rich foods, excess, and alcoholic beverages. Total abstinence from all these may not be realistic (I’m no stranger to dessert and a beer), but it is important to follow your oncologist’s recommendations at a minimum.
  • Understand Where Support Comes From: All of these plans involve a level of understanding and support from those around you. However, there may be people in your group of loved ones who are better at providing it.

Your life variables, diagnosis/treatment, and loved ones will ultimately dictate a lot of what you have to cope with. The hope is that your support network is full of people who care about you and can help you create holiday cheer this year.

Cancer Stress Doesn’t Only Affect Patients

A prevailing theme of the holiday season is sharing joy with friends, family, and loved ones. Similarly, part of the motivation for many cancer patients to push hard and get through treatment is so that we can spend as much time as possible with the people we care about.

Making sure our family members and loved ones aren’t overstressed due to cancer can honor both of these ideas. I know it’s difficult to extend help or expend energy from our positions as patients, but this year, a great gift for your partner, parents, children, or other loved ones is making sure their mental health and other needs are being looked after during your diagnosis. As someone who has seen my loved ones struggle with multiple cancer diagnoses, I promise this is an important element of a happy holiday setting.

Luckily, you don’t have to do this alone.

Navigating the holidays during cancer treatment?

Hope AI by Manta Cares shows you where you are in the process and helps you work out what to do and ask next. It is built on clinically reviewed cancer content, not general web search, so the answers are specific to what you are actually going through. Free for everyone.

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About the author: Mike Linn is a writer, athlete, business owner, and now a cancer patient advocate. He was first diagnosed with stage 3c metastatic melanoma at the age of 30 and had a stage 4 recurrence in 2023 at 35. In a better effort to understand the mental health side of being a cancer patient, he began posting content to social media and support groups and has yet to stop talking about his cancer experience both personally and professionally. Mike also loves candy and is determined to dispel the notion that sugar specifically feeds cancer, or he is at least hopeful that research will prove this.

Disclaimer: All content and information provided in connection with Manta Cares is solely intended for informational and educational purposes only.  This content and information is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.