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Setting Goals

For some people with lung cancer, the disease has a distinct way of making it difficult to think ahead or make plans of any kind. If you feel this way, it may be because you’ve lost confidence in your ability to fulfill those plans. It may help to remember that there are many people like you who are living with lung cancer who continue to live rewarding lives.

How Do You Want to Live Your Life?

It may take time and effort, but it is possible to eventually find a balance between the extremes of obsessing about cancer and thinking about it. You may need to focus on finding ways to live more fully and in the present.
  • Try to take care of cancer-related business when necessary, and then give yourself permission to take an emotional time-out from cancer.

  • Putting your cancer away for a while may free you to focus emotionally on the people and activities most important to you.
Goals can help us choose where we want to go in life. When we set realistic goals, we are providing a direction and vision for our future. When cancer is diagnosed, though, compromises may be in order. The goals and plans you once had may need to be revised to fit into this new phase of your life. You may find it helpful to:
  • Give yourself permission to change your goals. Goals don’t have to be enormous to be effective. If you don’t have the physical or emotional energy to deal with your original goals, it’s okay to revise them.

  • Set short-term goals that are modest and realistic. This can help you feel like you are moving ahead, even when your health is uncertain. To avoid feeling discouraged, try to focus on things you can do, on objectives that are possible to achieve.

  • Write down your most important goals. At least once a day, take a look at your list of the plans that will make you happier and more satisfied, and take steps (even small ones!) to achieve them. Feel free to update the list whenever necessary.

  • Set goals that reflect the shape of the life you want to lead. Focus on your plans, not the expectations of your parents, spouse/partner, family, or friends. Consider what changes, if any, you wish to make in your personal and professional relationships.

  • Set a goal just for your soul. Put your practical side away for a while and think about the one thing your inner soul needs you to do—then do it!

  • Adjust to the compromises that cancer demands. Accept the fact that having cancer changes your life in many aspects. You can still achieve most goals if you try to find ways to go over or around the obstacles in your path instead of letting them stop you completely.

  • If you smoke, quit! It’s never too late to stop smoking—even after a diagnosis of lung cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, smoking may reduce the effectiveness of your treatments, and it may increase your chance of developing a second cancer. Side effects of treatment may be more severe, which can lead to complications after lung surgery, further decreasing your odds of survival. Quitting smoking can reduce your risk of developing pneumonia, as well as heart and lung disease; improve your circulation, pulse rate, and blood pressure; and simply make it easier to breathe. Yes, it can be very difficult to stop smoking, especially now, but there are several proven nicotine-replacement methods available to help you, including patches, gums, inhalers, and nasal sprays. For smoking cessation programs that may help, please see Sources of Information below.

One Step at a Time

After you have determined what goals are right for you, it may be a good idea to decide which ones are most important. Giving priority to the ones that are most valuable can help keep you focused, as well as keep you from becoming overwhelmed by too many choices. No matter what goals you set for yourself, remember that they are your personal choices for your future. And you can start to achieve them—one step at a time.

Sources of Information

Several organizations provide information and support for quitting smoking. You may contact them by phone, mail, or on the Internet.
  • The American Lung Association
    61 Broadway, 6th Floor
    New York, NY 10006
    1-212-315-8700
    1-800-LUNG-USA (586-4872)
    Freedom From Smoking Online
    http://www.lungusa.org/ffs/
    An association that fights lung disease in all its forms through a variety of programs, including Freedom From Smoking Online, a Web-based smoking cessation program designed to educate and modify smoking behavior patterns, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

  • Office of the Surgeon General:
    Tobacco Cessation
    1-202-401-4357
    http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/tobacco/
    Offers several support tools, including the "You Can Quit Smoking: Consumer Guide," available by calling the number above or visiting the Web site.

  • Quitnet
    1 Appleton Street, 4th Floor
    Boston, MA 02116
    1-617-437-1500
    http://www.quitnet.org
    A comprehensive Web site that offers interactive, personalized quitting tools and guides, program locators, 24-hour online support/discussion, and links to related resources.

Additional Resources

Knowing where to find credible and accurate information about coping with lung cancer is an important step toward making life better for you and your family. The following resources may help:

Self Matters: Creating Your
Life From the Inside Out
Phillip C. McGraw, PhD
Simon & Schuster Source
ISBN 0-7432-2423-X, 314 pages
2001

Cancervive: The Challenge of Life After Cancer
Susan Nessim and Judith Ellis
Houghton Mifflin Company
ISBN 0-395-56190-6, 264 pages
1991