Medical Oncologist
Emotional wellbeing during treatment
Finding Purpose and Routine — During Long-Term Treatment
Long-term treatment can take away the rhythms that gave your days shape. That loss is real, it is common, and there are concrete steps that help — starting with very small ones.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Bharati Devi Gorantla, Medical Oncologist, MBBS · MD · DM (Adyar, Chennai) · ECMO · MRCP SCE (UK) · Last reviewed August 2026
- The loss is real — Treatment disrupts the roles, routines and plans that gave your life meaning. That is not a weakness — it is what cancer does.
- Small steps rebuild structure — One controllable thing, done at the same time each day, is enough to start.
- Purposelessness is treatable — Psycho-oncology support is part of comprehensive cancer care, not an add-on. You do not have to feel this way without help.
- Tell your team — Most people do not mention emotional struggle to their oncologist. Saying it once changes what support becomes available to you.
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Long-term treatment can strip away the routines that gave your days shape. That loss of purpose is real and common — not a sign that something is wrong with you. Rebuilding it starts with very small, controllable steps, and psycho-oncology support is available at CION to help you find them.
How do you start rebuilding purpose when treatment has taken over your days?
Anchor the day with one small choice
Pick something you decide — when to eat, a short walk, a brief call to someone you care about. One repeatable act at the same time each day signals to your mind that you still have agency over your own life.
Tell your oncology team what you are experiencing
Feeling purposeless or empty is part of what cancer does, and your team cannot see it on a scan. Say it at your next appointment, or ask a nurse coordinator to pass it on. This is clinical information, not a complaint.
Name one thing that has meaning — any size
It does not have to be large. A phone call to a grandchild, one page of a book, tending a single plant. The activity matters less than the fact that you chose it because it matters to you.
Let people be present
Isolation deepens the sense of emptiness. You do not have to explain everything. Letting a family member sit with you, or attending a support group even once, is enough to begin.
Ask for a referral to psycho-oncology support
Psycho-oncologists and cancer counsellors understand exactly this kind of loss. Ask your oncologist or nurse for a referral. You do not need to be in crisis to be eligible — feeling purposeless and exhausted is reason enough.
Is it normal to feel like your life has lost its direction during treatment?
Yes — and it is more common than most people admit to their doctors. Treatment creates a kind of limbo. Your previous roles and routines are disrupted, and the future feels uncertain. Together, those things leave days feeling shapeless.
The loss of purpose you feel is not depression in every case. It can be a grief response to what cancer has taken from your ordinary life — your work, your social role, your plans. Naming it accurately matters, because the support for a grief response is different from what helps clinical depression.
Both are worth treating. Neither is something you should push through alone.
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17+ senior cancer specialists. One panel for your case.
Trained at AIIMS, Tata Memorial, and leading international centres. Combined 150+ years of experience. Every complex case is reviewed by 3+ of them — together.
Medical Oncologist
Dr. C. Raghavendra Reddy
MBBS(Gold Medal), DNB(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Gold Medal)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Bharati Devi Gorantla
MBBS, MD(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Adyar,Chennai), ECMO, MRCP SCE(UK)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Owais Mohammed
MBBS, MD (General Medicine), DrNB (Medical Oncology), ECMO, MRCP SCE (Medical Oncology) (UK)
Medical Oncologist
Medical Oncologist
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Dr. Muralidhar Muddusetty
MBBS (AIIMS), MS (Surgery) (AIIMS), DNB (Surgical Oncology), MRCS (Edinburgh)
Surgical Oncologist
Surgical Oncologist
Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Vinay Mamidala
MBBS, MS(General Surgery), M.Ch(Surgical Oncology), FMAS, FARIS(Ongoing)
Surgical Oncologist
Radiation Oncologist
Radiation Oncologist
Radiation Oncologist
Hematologist
Interventional Radiologist
Dr. Mohammed Imran
Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Vajja Sandeep Kumar
MBBS, MS (General Surgery), DrNB (Surgical Oncology), FALS Oncology
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Practical guidance from a team that sees families through this every day.
What is psycho-oncology support and how do you ask for it?
Psycho-oncology is the part of cancer care that addresses emotional and psychological wellbeing. A cancer counsellor or psycho-oncologist will not give you generic therapy. They understand treatment schedules, scan anxiety, and the specific fears that come with a long diagnosis.
You can ask for a referral at any appointment — not only when things feel unmanageable. The referral usually comes through your oncologist or nurse coordinator. Some centres also offer patient support groups where you meet others at a similar stage.
If your first contact is not the right fit, say so and ask to try someone else. Finding the right person matters more than staying with the first referral.
Did you know?
WHO and ASCO both name psychosocial distress as one of the most consistently undertreated aspects of cancer care — not because support is unavailable, but because most people living with cancer do not raise it with their team.
Naming it at your next appointment is the most effective first step you can take.
Source: WHO Cancer Control Programme; ASCO Standards for Psychosocial Care in Cancer
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Common questions
Frequently asked questions
How do I find motivation to do anything when treatment is physically exhausting me?
Motivation rarely comes before action when you are depleted — it usually follows a very small act rather than preceding it. Start with something so small it cannot fail: five minutes outside, one message to a friend, one page of something you enjoy. Physical fatigue from treatment is real and varies day to day, so on harder days the goal is the smallest possible thing, not the ideal thing. Tell your team how fatigued you are — some fatigue during cancer treatment is treatable and not something you simply have to endure.
Will talking to a counsellor actually help, or is it just talking?
Psychological support during cancer treatment has a documented benefit on quality of life, and both ASCO and WHO include it as part of comprehensive cancer care — not optional extra support. What therapy changes is not the situation but your relationship to it: how much it consumes your attention, how isolated it makes you feel, and how you hold the uncertainty. The first session may feel awkward. That is normal. Give it a few sessions before deciding whether it is the right fit.
My family tells me I should stay positive. Is that the right approach?
Staying positive is a kind thing to say to someone you love, but pressure to feel positive when you are frightened or exhausted can leave you feeling more alone, not less. ASCO guidance does not support emotional suppression as a strategy during cancer care, and there is no evidence that expressing how you actually feel is harmful. You are allowed to have bad days. The goal is not constant positivity but genuine, honest support — and that starts with telling your team how you are actually doing.
Can I keep working during treatment?
Some people can, and some cannot — it depends on the treatment you are receiving, the kind of work you do, and how you are tolerating side effects. Many people find that some structure, even part-time work or a modified role, helps with their sense of purpose and keeps them connected to something they value. Others find it impossible, and that is also a legitimate outcome. Discuss it with your oncologist, who can advise on fitness to work at different stages of your treatment.
What if I feel I have lost my identity, not just my routine?
That feeling is one of the most painful aspects of a long cancer diagnosis and one of the least spoken about. Cancer changes what you can do, the role you play in your family, and how you see your future — that is a genuine loss, not an overreaction. Psycho-oncology support is particularly well-suited to this kind of work: not to restore who you were before, which is not always possible, but to help you understand who you are during and after treatment. Ask your oncologist for a referral.