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Nov. 21, 2023 – For patients with a history of addiction, cancer can also trigger concerns about their sobriety. What if I’m prescribed opioids? What if I become stressed and have the urge to misuse substances again? Whether your substance use disorder is centered around alcohol, prescription drugs, or legal or illegal drugs, it’s important to recognize how hard you’ve worked to get sober.
“You may have gone to a treatment facility where you had to be away from loved ones to get to a point of sobriety,” says Treacy. “With a new cancer diagnosis, there’s a lot of fear of, ‘Am I going to lose this thing that I’ve worked so hard for?’”
Even individuals in long-term recovery may perceive the use of any cancer treatment drug as a potential threat to their sobriety.
“There’s also a lot of shame associated with addiction,” says Treacy. “Patients may be concerned with how their past may play out when receiving other types of medical treatment, such as opioids or even benzodiazepines, which are often prescribed to treat anxiety.”
