1. Coping with Cancer:
If Cancer is a Gift,
What’s the Return Policy?
Mindy Greenstein, Ph.D.
(and what does it mean to have a
good attitude, anyway?)

2. Coping
There is no one-size fits all model for
coping with cancer!

3. It’s all about pragmatics
What makes you feel better?
What makes you feel worse?

4. Jewish Telegram
“Start worrying. Details to follow.”

5. Positives of my Cancer
• New appreciation of the people in my life
• Psycho-oncology education
• Prodded me to write and publish
• Made me less fearful of non-health
related issues
• Body improvement

6. Don’t Forget the Simple Stuff!
– Good friends to listen or distract
– Good conversation
– People you trust who’ve been there and done that
(unless you’d prefer not to know too much)
– Relaxation breathing
– Exercise
– Books, movies, theatre, museums — whatever art
forms appeal to you most
– Doing things that are fun
– Doing things that give you a sense of purpose

7. Different Coping Styles
• Realism vs. Denial of bad outcomes
• Power of Positive Thinking
• Defensive Pessimism
• Humor

8. Mindfulness and Meaning

9. Mindfulness

10. Mindfulness with a Hershey’s kiss

11. Meaning
He who has a why to live for can bear with
almost any how.
-Friedrich Nietzsche
(quoted in Frankl, Man’s
Search
for Meaning)

12. Meaning
• Feeling connected to the world
• Feeling like part of a larger whole
• Responsible to that world
• Goals and tasks to fulfill
• Can bring a sense of fulfillment and
peace

13. Routes to Meaning
• Work
• Causes you believe in and advocate for
• Creative pursuits
• Beauty
• Relationships
• How we deal with suffering that’s
unavoidable

14. Meaning
• Moments when life has felt particularly
meaningful
– something that helped get you through a
difficult day,
– or a time when you felt most alive.
• Is there a pattern to what experiences have
been most meaningful?
• Are they still meaningful?

15. ChemoWorthy Television
COMEDY
Arrested Development
Blackadder Series (especially 2 and 3)
The IT Crowd
Freaks and Geeks
Jane the Virgin
Brooklyn Nine Nine
Mozart in the Jungle (Amazon Prime
instant video)
The Office (both British and American
versions)
Weeds
Nurse Jackie
30 Rock
Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog
Coupling (British version)
The Larry Sanders Show
Louie
DRAMA
Orphan Black
Justified
Borgen (Danish)
Spiral (French)
Deadwood
Homeland
Srugim (Israeli)
Enlightened
The Top of the Lake
True Detective
Downton Abbey
Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009)
The Sopranos
Firefly
Prime Suspect 1 - 7 (British)
Homicide: Life on the Streets
Friday Night Lights

16. Meaning
“I am a _________.”

17. Meaning
I am a:
Writer
Wife/Mother
Psychologist
“Tough chick” from Brooklyn
Good shot

18. Integrating Past, Present, and
Future
Goals
Mindfulness
Meaning
Helping Others

19. Some Resources
Relaxation
The Relaxation Response
by Herbert Benson, M.D.
Morrow, 1975/2000
www.relaxationresponse.org

20. Some Resources
Mindfulness
The Miracle of Mindfulness, by Thich Nhat Hanh, Translated
by Mobi Ho (Beacon, 1999)
Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and
Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness by Jon Kabat-Zinn,
Ph.D. (Delta, 1990)
Guided Mindfulness Meditation, audio cd by Jon Kabat-Zinn.
Smartphone apps for relaxation and mindfulness training.

21. Some Resources
Psychotherapy Referrals
American Psychosocial Oncology Society
(APOS) toll-free helpline:
1-866-276-7443
(1-866-APOS-4-HELP)