Emotional support for every stage of the cancer journey
A cancer diagnosis impacts more than just the body—it can deeply affect your emotions, relationships, sense of identity, and overall wellbeing. At Restore Oncology Care, our counselling service is here to provide a safe and compassionate space to help you navigate the emotional challenges that come with cancer.
Whether you’re newly diagnosed, undergoing treatment, adjusting to life after cancer, or caring for a loved one, our counsellor is here to support you.
Meet Our Counsellor – Lesley
Lesley is a warm and experienced counsellor with specialised training in oncology care. She works with individuals, couples, and families who are experiencing the emotional and psychological effects of cancer at any stage—from diagnosis and treatment to survivorship or palliative care.
Lesley has particular expertise in breast cancer counselling, and offers support around loss, grief, trauma, relationships, body image, sexuality, and identity changes.
Counselling Services We Offer
Individual Counselling Sessions
One-on-one sessions provide a confidential space for you to talk openly about how you’re feeling. You may be dealing with anxiety, fear, sadness, anger, or simply trying to make sense of your experience. A cancer diagnosis brings with it major life changes—some physical, some emotional, and some relational.
Common concerns may include:
- Coping with diagnosis or treatment
- Fear of recurrence
- Stress and overwhelm
- Changes in identity or body image
- Processing grief or loss
- Feeling isolated, lost, or emotionally exhausted
Lesley is here to listen, support, and help you explore your emotions in a safe and understanding environment.
Family and Couples Counselling
Cancer affects more than just the individual—it impacts partners, children, parents, and close friends. Relationships can shift. Communication may become strained. Emotions can build up without a place to be expressed.
Lesley provides counselling for couples and families who are navigating:
- Emotional strain in relationships
- Fear, worry, or anticipatory grief
- Communication challenges
- Changing family roles and dynamics
- The pressure of caregiving or being “strong” for others
This space allows you to talk openly and receive support—together.
Adjusting to the “New Normal”
After a cancer diagnosis, many people describe adjusting to a “new normal.” Life can change in both expected and unexpected ways—routines, priorities, energy levels, and relationships may all feel different. You may experience ongoing treatment side effects or need to adapt to changes in your body, work, or social life.
Even after treatment ends, it’s common to feel emotionally unsettled. You may see life through a new lens, feel disconnected from who you were before, or struggle with returning to previous roles.
Counselling can help you:
- Process these emotional shifts
- Adjust to new routines and limitations
- Reconnect with purpose and self-understanding
- Navigate the uncertainty of what comes next
Areas of Focus
Body Image and Identity
Cancer can significantly impact how people view and relate to their bodies. You may feel disconnected from your physical self, uncomfortable with visible changes, or feel like your body has betrayed you. This is particularly common after surgeries such as mastectomy or treatments like chemotherapy.
Lesley supports individuals in:
- Rebuilding a positive relationship with their body
- Navigating physical changes and self-image
- Understanding the emotional responses to body loss or difference
Sexual Wellbeing and Intimacy
Sexuality and intimacy are often affected by cancer treatment, particularly for individuals undergoing hormone therapy, chemotherapy, or surgery. You may experience:
- Reduced libido or interest in intimacy
- Pain or discomfort during sexual activity
- Emotional distance from your partner
- Challenges related to energy levels or physical changes
Lesley provides a respectful and informed space to explore these issues. Individual or couples counselling can help address both the emotional and physical aspects of intimacy.
Loss and Grief
Grief during the cancer journey is not only about death. People may grieve the loss of health, independence, fertility, physical strength, time, or life milestones. These feelings are valid and common—and they can occur at any point in the cancer experience.
Lesley offers support for:
- Processing personal losses related to cancer
- Navigating grief in survivorship
- Supporting carers and family members dealing with their own grief or emotional burden
- Understanding and managing anticipatory grief in palliative care
You’re Not Alone
No one should have to go through cancer without emotional support. Whether you’re adjusting to a diagnosis, facing the challenges of treatment, or supporting a loved one, counselling can help you process your experience and find a way forward that feels manageable and hopeful.
To find out more or book a session, please contact us. We’re here to help you feel seen, heard, and supported.