Your family and friends may not know that you feel this way, so it is important to tell them. You need to develop plans for getting around these roadblocks. The process of grieving is unique for each person, so you need to find your own, special way of dealing with it. Experiment, and let your feelings tell you which are helping. Checking on results The important thing to remember is that people respond to grief in widely varying ways, and that you will have both ups and downs, good days and bad.
Healing takes time.
You will know that you are successfully working through grief when your stronger emotions begin to dissipate, such as when you no longer feel anger or deep sadness, and when your interest and involvement in outside activities return to their normal level. If your plan does not work Grieving is a difficult but natural process. If you cannot resume some of your normal activities or do not seem to feel better after 6 months, you may want to review When to Get Help . You can download this chapter or the entire Home Care Guide to Advanced Cancer . The American College of Physicians gives permission to reproduce and distribute copies of this plan provided it is not altered and its use is not for profit.