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ONE Group staff member Melanie Potiaumpai, PhD, works with cancer patient Curt Chambers in the exercise room at Penn State Cancer Institute in 2018. Both are smiling and Chambers is pulling on a resistance band.

Managing Anxiety

Learn about managing anxiety for people with cancer in this guide from The ONE Group (Oncology – Nutrition – Exercise) at Penn State College of Medicine.

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What you should know

The managing anxiety guide from The ONE Group includes the information on this page, formatted for print.Get a printable version of this guide

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is having feelings of fear, sadness and uneasiness that can happen because of stress. A person with anxiety may sweat, have a hard time relaxing and have a fast heartbeat.

Patients may have anxiety when:

  • Being tested for cancer
  • Waiting for test results
  • Hearing a cancer diagnosis
  • Being treated for cancer
  • Worrying that the cancer will come back

Signs and symptoms of anxiety

  • Looking and feeling worried
  • Trouble solving problems and focusing
  • Tension or tightness in muscles
  • Shaking
  • Dry mouth
  • Grouchiness
  • Short-temperedness
  • Panic attacks

What you can do: Strategies for managing anxiety

Ways to manage anxiety

  • Exercise
  • Meditation, yoga or prayer
  • Group therapy
  • Counseling
  • Having support from family members
  • Sharing your feelings
  • Remembering that it is OK to feel sad and frustrated

Tips for exercising

  • Ask your doctor which exercises are safe for you.
  • Take it slow. Increase the amount of exercise you do little by little.
  • Do exercises that you enjoy.
  • Exercising with others can make it more fun.
  • Some exercise is better than none.

Possible exercises you can try

  • Walking
  • Hiking
  • Cycling
  • Swimming
  • Any aerobic exercise

Note: Aerobic exercise for 30 minutes, three times weekly, has been specifically documented to improve anxiety among people living with and beyond cancer .

Where can I find more information about aerobic and strength-training exercises?

If you are interested in starting aerobic and/or strength-training exercises, The ONE Group (Oncology – Nutrition – Exercise) provides videos demonstrating proper form for more than 50 exercises.

See the videos here

Notes

Contact your physician if:

  • You have thoughts of wanting to hurt yourself.
  • You have thoughts of wanting to hurt others.
  • You experience loss of control.

References