Hi there. I havn’t Posted here for many years, but I thought I would today in the hope that I may be able to give some hope and inspiration to all you lovely ladies (and possibly gents).
I was diagnosed 9 years ago today and I still remember very clearly how utterly shocked and terrified I felt! It’s hard to believe when you are going through all the tests and treatment that life will ever return to normal (whatever that is!). Well, my ‘normal’ is a little different now, if anything I’d say that in some respects having cancer has improved my life. It made me realise that I spent way too many hours worrying about things that are just not important.
When you are on the treadmill of tests, operations and treatment it feels as though you lose yourself and that you’ll always be a ‘cancer patient’, but I promise you that it will not always be that way.
I love and enjoy my life so much now and oddly I feel more confident…if I can get through all of that I can face anything! Even though I’ve had a double mastectomy (no reconstruction), I love my body and have even learned to laugh at some of the situations I have been in, like the time I took my Grandchildren swimming and my spongy prosthesis managed to liberate itself from my swimming costume…my 5yr old grandson saw it floating on the water, grabbed it and managed to lob it halfway across the pool much to his great delight!
If you’re in that awful place of being recently diagnosed, please be kind to yourself…things WILL get better.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help, sometimes we try to soldier on but people really do want to help.
Don’t go to random websites to look up your symptoms and diagnosis, we always manage to find the worst scenario!
Be forgiving towards the people who make most incredibly crass comments in the belief that are being supportive. When I told someone that I’d been the recipient of an awful road rage incident they replied that the men in the car had probably thought I was a bloke because I had a bald head!! Mmmm…keep smiling and carry on!
And finally…always secure your prosthesis properly when swimming!
I wish every one of you the very best in life, keep fighting the fight…
Love and blessings, Esme x
Thank you Esme for that positive post.
Lovely words, truly inspiring, many, many thanks xxx
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Hello Esme, just wanted to say thank you for posting, such a lovely positive post to read. For anyone newly diagnosed it is so hard to even imagine that things will improve but as you rightly say, for almost everyone they do! My life too is very different but like you I now feel more confident as I took on board very sound advice to just ignore the people who, intentionally or unintentionally, just seem to want to drain you and be negative towards you regardless of what you do or say. Yes, be kind but also to yourself and make your own decisions, not those that are often suggested by others to make them feel better. Long may your good health and happiness continue! Best, Kxx
What a wonderful post. As I had my mastectomy 3 days ago thank you. I keep googling, crying from time to time and waiting for my results- you know how it is… thank you for the hope
Thank you for posting this. You are really inspiring. I’m happy for you xx