How One Breast Cancer Survivor Managed Anxiety During Treatment
“I'm kind of dealing with PTSD. It's a lot of trauma for me.”

When Roshni Kamta learned she had breast cancer at age 22, she understood some of the things she should expect. She knew she might lose her hair and eyebrows. She knew she might experience nausea during treatment. What she wasn’t ready for was the anxiety during breast cancer treatment.
“I was not prepared for the mental stuff,” says Kamta. “I'm kind of dealing with PTSD. It's a lot of trauma for me.”
Anxiety During Breast Cancer
Every patient’s experience is different, but cancer can commonly cause changes in mental health. Anxiety may be a common reaction as patients feel worried about their long-term health or how effective treatment will be. Cancer may also cause a sense of powerlessness for many patients.
In one 2017 study of 339 women undergoing breast cancer treatment, 45 percent of the women had severe levels of anxiety at the time of diagnosis. Many of the women who experienced anxiety also reported worsened body image, sexual enjoyment, and overall quality of life.
Managing the Anxiety
Social support can play a significant role in a person’s mental health during cancer treatment.
“Roshni has been uniquely vocal about her experience getting a cancer diagnosis,” says Hanna Irie, MD, oncologist at Mount Sinai Hospital who treated Kamta. “She has been incredibly open and honest about her experiences. I like to think that that's helped her heal from the various treatments as well.”
If a patient doesn’t have strong support from their own family and friends, it can be helpful to seek out support groups or therapy programs. Many oncology centers offer their own support groups for patients or have a psychologist on staff. These can help patients navigate the experience from people who “get it.”
“I've been seeing a therapist since I've been in treatment,” says Kamta. “I was very angry during chemo and I took that out on my parents [and] people close to me, and that's not the type of person that I am. … I just didn't know how to deal with my feelings, so talking to someone, like a therapist, has really helped.”
Anxiety as a “Survivor”
In general, many people see their anxiety levels decrease at the end of their cancer treatment. In the 2017 study mentioned earlier, the rate of severe anxiety dropped to 19 percent of women by the end of treatment.
However, anxiety is still common among “survivors” after treatment. For example, some may worry about cancer recurrence, and others—like Kamta—may be processing trauma from the diagnosis, or how the experience affects their self-identity.
“Sometimes I don't feel like a survivor,” says Kamta. “I have an issue when people tell me that I'm strong because sometimes I don't feel that way, and a lot of times during chemo I just wanted to give up and just feel like this isn't worth it. It sucked.”
Kamta also feels pressure about being a cancer survivor. “People that don't go through cancer, they put cancer patients on a pedestal of success. When you're done with treatment, you're just supposed to be this incredible human being who can just change people's lives, and it's a lot of pressure,” she says.
Advice for Managing Anxiety
“Every patient has his or her own way of dealing with a diagnosis of breast cancer, and there is no one right way,” says Dr. Irie.
For example, some people are more private about their experience, whereas others are vocal and actively seek support and community. Some patients want to “talk it out,” while others just want to ignore their diagnosis around their friends and try to live a normal life.
“For someone who prefers to be more private … I just want these individuals to know that if they need to discuss any stressors related to treatment and their diagnosis, that there are … psychologists and psychiatrists who are open and ready to help discuss these issues in private,” says Dr. Irie.
Kamta offers her own advice: ““Be kind to yourself, accept help, [and] feel your feelings,” says Kamta. “You need your own time to process your feelings.”
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(somber piano music and waves crashing)
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My name is Roshni. I'm 24.
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I was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer at 22,
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right before my 23rd birthday,
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and what I struggled with the most when dealing
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with breast cancer was the mental part of it.
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I wasn't expecting it. It kind of hit me like a bus,
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because you watch cancer patients on TV,
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and it's all the physical.
They lose their hair,
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they have no eyebrows, or they don't have any eyelashes,
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and that's what I was prepared for.
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I was not prepared for the mental stuff.
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(somber piano music)
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So my experience with anxiety, it's mostly towards
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being diagnosed with cancer.
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I'm kind of dealing with PTSD.
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It's a lot of trauma for me.
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Cancer, it's shitty. It absolutely sucks.
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I like to think about it as 60% mental and 40% physical.
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The physical things, like nausea, eating,
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you can handle that. You can control that,
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but the mental stuff, you have to try to get yourself
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to work up to get out of bed,
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to do something that's a little normal,
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or want to talk to people about what's happening to you.
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That's all on you.
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You have to get yourself mentally to do all that stuff.
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No, it looks great.
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Yeah.
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Your skin will heal. It will take a couple more weeks.
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Yeah.
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(Dr. Irie) Roshni has been uniquely vocal
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about her experience getting a cancer diagnosis,
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as well as the treatments.
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She has been incredibly open and honest
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about her experiences.
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I like to think that that's helped her heal
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from the various treatments as well,
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but I know that working in support groups,
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she has really encouraged other younger women
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going through a very similar experience.
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I've been seeing a therapist since I've been in treatment,
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which is very helpful because you're telling
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how you feel to that person, and then that person
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is coming back to you with, 'Okay, your feelings are valid.'
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I was very angry during chemo
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and I took that out on my parents, you know,
people close to me,
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and that's not the type of person that I am,
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but I just didn't know how to deal with my feelings,
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so talking to someone, like a therapist, has really helped
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because sometimes I don't feel like a survivor.
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I have sort of survivor's guilt,
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and I just have an issue when people tell me that I'm strong
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because sometimes I don't feel that way,
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and a lot of times during chemo I really just wanted to give up
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and just feel like this isn't worth it. It sucked.
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And it's difficult when people that don't go through cancer,
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they put cancer patients on a pedestal of success.
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When you're done with treatment,
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you're just supposed to be this incredible human being
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who can change people's lives, and it's just,
it's a lot of pressure.
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It's hard to be positive all the time, and that's its own job,
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is trying to mentally get yourself to get through it,
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and just be kind to yourself, accept help,
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feel your feelings also.
You need your own time to process your feelings.
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(waves crashing on shore)
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(Dr. Irie) Every patient has his or her own way
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of dealing with a diagnosis of breast cancer
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and there is no one right way.
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For someone who prefers to be more private
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about their diagnosis and their treatment,
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I just want these individuals to know
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that if they need to discuss any stressors
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related to treatment and their diagnosis,
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that there are individuals,
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for example, psychologists and psychiatrists,
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who are open and ready to help
discuss these issues in private.
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(slow piano music)