A cancer diagnosis can be an extremely stressful and emotional time for the person diagnosed, as well as their carer and family.
Here at Cancer Council WA, our counsellors are available to provide emotional support to those who need it. Counsellors can provide a safe and secure service to meet their clients' needs via face-to-face, telehealth, or telephone appointments. Our services are available in both metropolitan and regional Western Australia.
How can a counsellor help?
Counselling can help you learn how to cope with emotions such as fear and anxiety; and challenges such as communication issues, isolation and adjusting to changes in family dynamics.
By sharing your thoughts and feelings with a professional counsellor, you can explore what is happening in your life. By addressing the issues that have arisen, you can discover possible solutions and help develop skills that can be incorporated into your daily life. This will in turn produce benefits such as reducing distress and anxiety, improving coping abilities and your overall wellbeing.
Clients who have used the service have reported it has successfully met their needs, was easy to access and they would recommend the service to others. For one cancer patient, the counselling allowed them to take control of their thoughts during and after their cancer diagnosis:
"It is very comforting to know that the care during and after a cancer diagnosis is so readily available, if either myself or my family need it. My counsellor was so wonderful and because the help was provided quickly, my problem did not escalate and I have had no return of the thoughts to date."
Another client said "I am grateful for the personal touch given by this service. Anxiety around cancer is a subject avoided and, in some ways, treated as an imposition by the health system".
How can you access our counselling service?
If you would like to access our counselling services please phone our 13 11 20 Cancer Information and Support Line to speak with our specially trained staff, or ask your Cancer Support Coordinator.
