Saturday 14 June 2025
A diagnosis and treatment of cancer can have a big impact on you psychological wellbeing and quality of life. It can affect many aspects of your life and be hard to adjust to and therefore you may experience a number of psychological challenges, such as low mood or anxiety.
If you are struggling with psychological difficulties linked to your diagnosis or treatment you may benefit from accessing some of the following support:
Well-Being Apps – Using mindfulness and relaxation can be helpful when feeling overwhelmed.
Online Forums – These can be a valuable source of help and advice and also a way of connecting with others.
Family & Friends – It is helpful to make your support network aware of how you are feeling. This can help them know how they can help support you.
Self-Care – is it understandable that you may be struggling and finding things hard. It is important to be kind to yourself and acknowledge how difficult things are. It is also important to try and look after your eating, sleeping and exercise to help build resilience.
Community Services/Websites – Local support groups and charitable services offer a number of useful avenues of support, e.g. counselling, befriending, legal advice, alternative therapies. Some useful local services & websites are listed in the section below.
Support from within the hospital is available from the Clinical Health Psychology Department. Our team is made up of clinical psychologists, psychotherapists and counsellors who are experienced mental health professionals. We offer an initial assessment appointment to explore your psychological distress and how it relates to your cancer and then if appropriate we offer time-limited therapy sessions which help you work towards your goals. Therapy sessions encourage you to talk about your difficulties and get a full understanding of your problems. We then work together to help you develop ways of managing and understanding your emotions. We also understand that cancer can impact your support network and therefore we can also see family members and carers who are experiencing psychological difficulties linked to your diagnosis.
If you would like to access this service, please speak to you Cancer Support Worker (01722 336262 extension 2417) or another member of your medical team and ask for a referral.
Our staff at Salisbury District Hospital have long been well regarded for the quality of care and treatment they provide for our patients and for their innovation, commitment and professionalism. This has been recognised in a wide range of achievements and it is reflected in our award of NHS Foundation Trust status. This is afforded to hospitals that provide the highest standards of care.
