The psychological care team of the Cangas Breast Cancer Diagnosed Association (Adicam), of which Vanesa Parada is a member, will teach tomorrow at the Casa da Bola headquarters, in Cangas, a workshop on absent-mindedness aimed at women people diagnosed with all types of cancer. It will be from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and prior registration is required. Perhaps, the confusion generated by oncological treatments and stress is seen as something miniscule among all that cancer supposes in a person’s life, but it is true that people diagnosed suffer from it and from Adicam they also seek to combat it by providing help necessary. Vanesa Parada is one of the psychologists on the team that will give the workshop.
–In this time that you have been a psychologist at Adicam, what most important problems have you encountered in diagnosed people?
–Of different types and in different areas, in the end it is a diagnosis that affects your whole life. In the psychological field, the first thing we find is the initial shock and the emotional management of the diagnosis, anxiety and uncertainty caused by this type of process is also very frequent, and in many cases also due to the lack of information. But we also find problems in the labor, social, economic, family sphere that may arise.
– Are people usually reluctant to ask for psychological help?
– In my experience I would say no. It comes with many doubts, they need to talk about everything that is happening to them, we accompany them throughout the process and help them manage the problems that arise, sometimes it is diagnosed that they have already gone through the whole process and it is at the end when they need that support.
–Is the confusion caused by the disease associated with the treatment or are more factors influencing it?
–It is a phenomenon known as chemobrain or chemobrain, which refers to brain changes derived from cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy or hormonal therapy. They mainly affect memory and concentration, which leads to confusion and forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating on a task or difficulty remembering, for example, a word or a date. But these mistakes can occur before the treatments, from the moment of diagnosis and is due to the stress and emotions that are generated at that time. So it can be both.
– What is the best remedy to face these mistakes or the first advice they give?
– Write down everything, use calendars, agendas or notebooks that allow us to plan day-to-day. It is also recommended to exercise the brain with activities such as reading, crosswords, sudoku … And it is essential to accompany this with a good rest and healthy habits.
– What is the average age of the people who attend to this problem?
– I could not tell you the exact average, although most are between 40 and 60 years old, although younger women are arriving every time.
–How do you propose the “Malditos despistes” workshop that Adicam has organized for tomorrow in Cangas?
–The workshop arises because many of the people diagnosed do not know what is happening to them, sometimes they are even scared by these mistakes, we fundamentally seek to provide information, strategies with which to minimize these effects and a space also to share with more people in the same situation , an exchange of experiences that can help you. We hope to be able to do this at the other Adicam locations as well.
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