Yesterday was World Mental Health Day. The 2021 World Mental Health Day campaign ’Mental Health in an Unequal World’ focuses on the issues that perpetuate mental health inequality locally and globally.
In the UK the Better Health – Every Mind Matters campaign is focusing on “What works for me”
For the Neuroendocrine Cancer community – as with other rare diagnosis groups – “Many of the drivers of poor mental health reflect issues that are specific to managing a rare diagnosis- e.g. being misdiagnosed with psychiatric illness, when trying to access support for physical symptoms. This can have both physical & mental health implications”
With the prospect of living with an incurable cancer and often inescapable uncertainty, emotional & quality of life considerations should be of equal importance;
‘I am not afraid of dying, but I am afraid of not living’
For those in the rare/uncommon cancer communities, mental health issues are an often unaddressed, as repeatedly highlighted (by advocacy organisations) over time.
We could do better – Together we can do better
#MINDtheGAP NCUK campaign
Bouvier & Jervis 2021 Patient perspectives, from diagnosis through treatments and beyond COEMR June (18) 254-257
WMHD2021 reources:
#Every Mind matters https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/
#WMHD2021 http://wmhd2021.com/index.php
Further helpful links and resources can be found here including a few short exercises, here, that may help if you are feeling anxious or worried.