Lee Crawford

Living with the experience of cancer interrupts our life flow, changes how we see ourselves and asks us to reorient to life in a new way.

 

While it is true that medical intervention treats the disease, healing from cancer places control and choice back with the person.  In supporting people living with or recovering from cancer, I weave together mind-body therapy, coaching, trauma therapy, practical life skills, art therapy and a mindfulness based approach to cancer recovery.

 

The framework of cancer support is based in psycho-social oncology, which is a whole person approach involving the psychological, social ,emotional and spiritual aspects of each person. This approach encompasses experiences from prevention, diagnosis, medical treatment, survivorship and bereavement.

 

Living with medical treatment: For those of you who have just been diagnosed with cancer and are stepping into medical treatment, counselling offers support for: adjusting to change, understanding the disease, how to hold on to yourself, coping with shock, fear and grief, what to expect, how to talk to medical staff, decisions about medical treatment, work and career changes, and how to talk about cancer to family and friends.

 

Survivorship: For those of you who have completed medical treatment, you may find yourself contemplating ideas such as:  What Just Happened? How do I step back into my life? Who am I now? What’s important now? My body feels different. How do I manage my healing? What type of support do I need now?

 

As a clinical counsellor and twenty year cancer survivor, I offer you my support, my personal and professional understanding, and skills and knowledge that will help you make sense of what you have been through. Counselling can address your psychosocial concerns so that you can chart a new direction in life, discover your own style in managing challenges, and rediscover your wellness and vitality for life.

 

INDIVIDUAL COUNSELLING AND CANCER CARE

 

 Issues I work with:

 

• Compassionate counselling support as you adjust to being diagnosed with cancer, living with medical treatment, and how to transition back into your life.

• Normalizing and understanding the emotional distress and physical effects of trauma.

• Understanding how cancer affects your personal relationships, your sense of yourself and how your life will be forever changed.

• Providing compassion and skills for the unique challenges of cancer: living life in limbo, living life while in remission, fear of recurrence and facing ones mortality.

• Self-Care Skills: for balancing regular life activities with hospital visits and medical treatment.

• Changes to your fertility, sexual functioning and sexual identity as a result of medical treatment.

• Guiding and empowering you to create your version of a wellness plan that supports your physical, emotional, psychological, social and spiritual health.

• Mind-body skills to better cope with stress, fatigue, feeling overwhelmed, anxiety, depression, fear and loss of control.

• Communication and relationship skills that support you and your family adjust to cancer treatment and survivorship.

• Defining what type of emotional and practical support you need from family and friends.

• Return to work goals, career changes and financial concerns.

• Exploring the spiritual meaning of cancer and finding strategies to hold on to hope and wellbeing.

• Discovering personal resources that support you in order to gain control so that you can live your life to the full.