Cancer can control other aspects of your life, as the stress and trauma from a diagnosis are evident on the body, but the lasting emotional and financial concerns are not always as easy to see.

Cancer patient survivors encounter numerous challenges and hurdles due to their diagnoses from chronic depression, physical rehabilitation, and financial burdens.

According to the ACS, side effects from chemotherapy can be ongoing. These include fatigue, nausea, hair loss, and what some refer to as brain fog, or the inability to concentrate and focus. These side effects can prevent patients from performing their jobs and other daily routines.

Such was the case for Diane Safford, of Ossineke, a two-time cancer survivor who was diagnosed with glandular lung cancer at the age of 40.

Courtesy Photo Diane Safford rings a bell to mark the end of her cancer treatment in this undated courtesy photo.

Safford is your average American, hard-working homeowner, enjoying the fruits of her labors until in a blink of an eye, it all changed.

According to Safford, she had to receive chemotherapy and radiation before and after her lung removal surgery, which produced nausea and constant fatigue, leaving her unable to work.

“It was a terrible feeling,” she said. “I had worked my whole life, and now I couldn’t even get out of the house. The bills kept coming in, and once your savings are gone, then what? I eventually had to sell my house. If it wasn’t for family and friends, I don’t know where I’d be.”

After getting back on her feet, Safford was diagnosed with breast cancer seven years later. Though she recalls these challenges were slightly easier, the memory of the past still haunt her.

“With the breast cancer there was no chemo, and after the lumpectomy and radiation my outlook was more positive and less intrusive,” Safford said. “People may recognize the effects of cancer on the body of an individual, but the reality is sometimes it’s the underlying things no one notices: anxiety and the fear that it could come back.”