Navigating the Holidays With a Breast Cancer Diagnosis (or the Fear of One): A Compassionate Guide for Women Facing a Difficult Season

The holidays are supposed to be “the most wonderful time of the year," but when you’re living with breast cancer, going through treatment, waiting for results, or fearing a diagnosis, December can feel like the heaviest month on the calendar.

While others are celebrating, shopping, traveling, and posting perfectly curated holiday photos, you might be:

• Exhausted from chemo or hormone therapy

• Too worried to enjoy the season

• Short on money because treatment costs are overwhelming

• Struggling emotionally while everyone else feels festive

• Afraid this could be your last holiday

• Missing your “old life,” energy, body, confidence, or routines
  

I remember my own first holiday season in this reality — feeling like something was wrong, being dismissed, told it was “in my head,” and sitting through December in emergency waiting room chairs confused, lonely, and terrified.

If you’re in that space now, this blog post is your permission to slow down, mentally check in, and move through the holidays in a way that supports your body, your mind, and your peace.

Strategies for Getting Through the Holidays

Release the pressure to create a perfect holiday. You don’t need a picture-perfect tree, decorations, matching family pajamas, or a packed social calendar. This year, your priority is resting, not performing. Think about more simple ways of expressing your traditions and know that simplicity can still create meaningful moments.

Manage expectations with family or kids

Gently let your family or kids know what you can and can’t do this year. Children especially remember connection more than big events, so focus on small moments together. Clear communication helps everyone understand and stay on the same page.

Keep your schedule light. You’re allowed to decline invitations or limit how many events you attend. Choose the gatherings that genuinely make you feel supported, and let the rest go. Protecting your energy is an act of self-preservation, not selfishness.

Create new comforting, home-based traditions. If treatment, fatigue, or fear is keeping you close to home, build small rituals that help the season feel special like a cozy movie, craft nights, warm soups, candlelight, or gentle music. Holidays don’t have to be busy to be beautiful.

Reach out to people you trust. Having a short phone call or voice note exchange with someone who understands you can make a world of difference. You don’t need to explain everything, just let someone be with you emotionally. Connection eases the weight and if it's with the right person, you often feel much better.

Lean into calming practices when anxiety rises. Waiting for results and constantly refreshing your mychart, recovering from chemo, or navigating uncertainty can be intensely stressful. Simple grounding practices like box breathing, gentle stretching, warm foot baths with epsom salts, tapping, bilateral music, or guided meditations, can help settle your nervous system and bring a sense of control back into your day.

Focus on what is still in your control. While you can’t control scans, or timelines, you can support yourself through nourishment, light movement when possible, and prioritizing moments that bring comfort. Even small acts like preparing a warm meal or taking a slow walk can help you feel more anchored, and less likely to spiral.

Allow others to help you. If someone offers to bring groceries, cook a meal, drive you to an appointment, or simply sit with you, let them. Accepting support does not make you a burden, it allows your circle to show love in a meaningful way, and it gives you space to rest.

Give yourself permission to grieve this holiday. You may be grieving your old energy, your old routines, your old sense of safety, or the version of the holidays you used to enjoy. Grief isn’t negativity; it’s honesty. Your emotions deserve space, especially now.

Simplify your holiday spending. If money is tight because of treatment or time off work, it is perfectly okay to skip gifts or keep things minimal. Your presence, love, and resilience are more valuable than anything you could buy.

Most importantly, remember that this holiday season is just one chapter, not the story of your life. Better seasons, better health, and brighter days are possible, even if it doesn’t feel that way right now. You are moving through something incredibly hard, and you’re doing it with more strength than you realize.

If you’d like one-on-one cancer coaching support, you can book a consultation with me and we’ll create a personalized, evidence-based plan tailored to your unique needs. You can also join my newsletter for holistic breast cancer support, recipes, and hormone-health insights. And if you enjoy daily tips, education, and behind-the-scenes support, come connect with me on Instagram @Nutriditions.