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<li>If you are being treated with cancer drugs (chemotherapy), you may get sores in
your mouth, and alcohol will make them worse.
<li>If you need radiation treatment or chemotherapy, you will need to eat well to stay
strong. Drinking or taking drugs can interfere with good eating habits and a quick recovery.
<li>Drug and alcohol abuse will keep you from coping well with cancer and its
stresses and emotional demands.
</ul>
When someone abuses alcohol or drugs, the person's family is affected by the problem, too. Family members are often unsure of how to help. They feel angry at the person with the problem because they can see the damage that drinking or drug problems cause. Loved ones may also feel they have caused the problem. They don't understand why their love and concern doesn't help the person give up the drinking or drugs. It is important that these loved ones get help for themselves to deal with these feelings. The stresses of cancer, combined with the stresses of alcohol and drug abuse, are too hard for most families to handle alone.<p>
<h1>How A Drug And/Or Alcohol Abuse Service Can Help </h1>
<b>The service:</b>
<ul>
<li> Offers physical and mental tests which will discover the nature of the problem
and suggest types of treatment.
<li> Provides counseling to help you cope with stress and troubled feelings and find
other ways to deal with your problems than drinking or taking drugs.
<li> Provides treatment in a clinic or hospital if counseling is not working and you
need more help.
<li> Puts you in touch with local support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous or
Narcotics Anonymous.
<li> Provides help for loved ones who have problems because the cancer patient
takes drugs or drinks. Can refer the family members to private counseling or to self-help groups, such as Al-Anon or Al-Ateen.
</ul>
<h1>Finding Appropriate Services </h1>
Sometimes people have trouble admitting they have a problem with drugs or drinking. It is very important that your doctor is aware of this problem. It can slow your treatment and make it and its side effects more difficult. The health care team is willing to help if you can be honest about drinking or drugs. They will refer you to a hospital or a local group program for help. If you are not willing to discuss this with your doctor and still want help, you can call Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. <p>
Programs for drug and drinking problems can be found in some general hospitals and health clinics and also in hospitals which specialize in drug and drinking problems. Programs are also offered through local agencies such as a community mental-health agency.<p>
<h1>Helpful Hints:</h1>
Coping with cancer can be hard. Drinking and drugs will not help you cope. Their use may also hinder your cancer treatment.<p>
The hardest part of having a problem with drinking or alcohol is saying you have one. Once you admit to the problem, you can get help. You may feel ashamed or guilty about having to depend on drinking or drugs to cope. But depending on alcohol or drugs (addiction) is an illness like cancer. Just as you should not deny yourself treatment for cancer, you should not deny yourself treatment for a problem with drinking or drugs.<p>
You may have tried to give up your need for alcohol or drugs before. If it did not work, please try again. Every life has meaning, even if it does not seem like it at the moment. Give the health-care team a chance to help you. If you are a family member of a person with a drinking or drug problem, get help for yourself. The patient may not admit to a problem or seek help. Even so, families still have to deal with the effects of drinking or drugs plus the stress of cancer. Talk to your social worker or nurse about services available at the hospital or in your community.<p>
Smoking is also an addiction. Smoking while you have cancer may affect your chances for a longer life after treatment. Ask about local or hospital programs to help you stop smoking or call your local American Cancer Society Unit for information.<p>
<i>This Fact Sheet is adapted from the book, Helping People Cope: A Guide for Families Facing Cancer, written by Joan F. Hermann, ACSW, Sandra L. Wojtkowiak, RN, MSN, Peter S. Houts, PhD, and S. Benham Kahn, MD, and supported by the Pennsylvania Cancer Control Program of the Pennsyltania Department of Health; 1990 Revised Edition.</i><p>
c 1993, American Cancer Society Inc.<p>
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