Breast Cancer – Now What?

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Dania Demaurio

Dania Demaurio, LCSW
Behavioral Health Consultant
NOAH Balsz Health Center

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), there are 252,710 estimated new cases of breast cancer for 2017. Receiving a breast cancer diagnosis can be one of the most distressing experiences that a woman can experience. It can affect a woman’s psychological, social, physical, and spiritual well-being. A cancer diagnosis often results in unwanted intrusive thoughts about cancer, emotional reactions and psychological challenges, such as anxiety, hopelessness and despair, fear of dying, sense of lonesomeness, and sexual and body-image problems. A cancer diagnosis can also result in change in relationships and a change in a woman’s life and overall decrease in the quality of life. Read more

Domestic Violence – Toxic Stress

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Domestic Violence is more common than we may think and negatively impacts a child’s long term mental and physical health. In the United States it is estimated that up to 30% of children, 15.5 million, live in a household where domestic violence is present. Exposure to abuse and neglect can lead to what is called Toxic Stress that causes the body to produce stress hormones over long periods of time, including Cortisol, that can be quite harmful to the developing brain and body of a child. Read more