Mental health after stem cell transplant

Hi Kind,

I am really sorry to read about what your daughter is going through and I sincerely hope that her cancer is not still there as you are suspecting on a different thread.

Re: mental health, definitely mention this to the team dealing with the SCT, they should be able to refer your daughter to the right people to get the right support. I spent over 70 days of the first 100 days after SCT in hospital and I think I had a mental breakdown (it’s hard to self-analyse what it was and I don’t like asking nearest and dearest), but needless to say I was seen by a team of psychiatrists and a psychologist within 24 hours of the lowest low - so the care is accessible, I think the medical teams just need to be told how serious it is. I stayed under the care of a psychologist for about 9 months and I credit that as keeping me alive as much as the haematological stuff. Please mention your concerns to your daughter’s medical team, I am positive they will be able to get her the help she needs, and please pass on how tough I think she is. 70 days broke me, so she is one tough cookie to get through 4 months.

Sending all my best wishes,

Greg

Hi again , SCT can truly be a hard journey resulting in many challenges.

We were very fortunate that our SCT unit was very proactive.

My wife and I were meet as a couple and individually on a few occasions with the unit psychologist team and also during and after SCT........ this was a very important part of how we got through the process mentally ok as we understood clearly the challenges we would face a d were given tools to help us through each stage.

As Greg says - make sure that you do ask for some help from the team. This can be a normal request so should be able to help quickly....... it would also be worth checking if you have a Maggie’s Centre in your area as these folks give amazing support.

((hugs))

Hello ,

I too agree with the above posts, oncology psychology help is often missing but really needed at times during the SCT period, before, during and after for as long as it takes! The main point of contact to ask has to be the transplant unit, I would think. 

daughters unit was proactive in that even her regular carers got care while she was going through her allo, I benefitted from a through-towel back massage which made a huge difference! But she had the full works, even help working through her survivors guilt. (She actually composed 4 short piano pieces expressing all she felt, released as an ‘EP’, entitled ‘Lost’) 

Hugs xxx