am I going mad ?, I was discharged in november 2011,after 5 years, I was TNBC, chemo and RADS, all went ok, you think I should be sailing high, but last 6 months, had panic attacks, every ache and pain is cancer,my GP is fab, but im getting to feel like a whinger, all my blood tests are normal taken in Nov 2011, right now I have pain in left side of stomach, heartburn, bloated, poor appetite, stomach grumbling, dry mouth, all signs of anxiety and stomach cancer, I google when I know I shouldnt, does anyone else have my fears, am I normal ?
I would say that you are definately normal and definately not mad! This paranoid anxiety is one of the after effects of BC and I know from experience it’s almost impossible to shift. I am 7 years down the line now from a recurrence & 12 years away from initial diagnosis & I still become a nervous wreck at the slightest little ache or pain. But what you need to remember is that we are still going to get all the common ailments that everyone gets, it’s just that once you have cancer you immediately go down that road again. Try and think to yourself “if I hadn’t had cancer how would I react to this pain” and you will find that your logical mind will say “oh it’s just a bit of indigestion or I’m worrying too much and becoming anxious”. I know it’s hard but try and let go of the cancer now. Maybe a counsellor could help you will some ways of doing this.
One last piece of advice DO NOT GOOGLE!!! Half the info out there is wrong and out of date so don’t do it.
It sounds like you’re having pretty tough time at the moment. As well as the support you are receiving on here you might find it helpful to talk things through with a trained member of staff on the BCC helpline. Here you can share your feelings and concerns with someone who will offer you emotional support as well as practical information. The free phone number is 0808 800 600 and the lines are open Monday to Friday 9.00 to 5.00 and Saturday 9.00 to 2.00.
Thank you lbx157, its so nice to hear you have the same worries, I am so pleased to hear you have beat it twice, I try to talk myself out of it, and think do not google but i do, but im not going to anymore :),worrying is not going to change the future, my GP last time suggested a counsellor, so I think I might give it a go, because I think im driving my kids and partner crazy too.
Ange, even if your GP is wonderful, give the helpline a ring. They’re fab. And it’s so good to talk to another human voice who is informed but not personally involved. It really helps to get your thoughts straight.
Ange TNBC is the only breast cancer they are happy tell you that you have been cured… If you have no recurrence it’s very unlikely you would do now and many units will considered you to be cured… In the research they have dine hardl anybody had a recurrence after 5 years and none after 8 years, unlike the with hormone positive cancer where there is a life time risk.
Be vigilant but try not to be obsessive… Think your gps idea of counselling might be of help.
Hi Ange, I was discharged after 5 years a couple of weeks before Christmas and whilst my Christmas was pretty stress free for the first time in years, it doesn’t automatically mean I’ve forgotten about cancer. For instance, for about the past week I’ve had an ache in one of my ribs from time to time which scared me a bit. I know deep down it’s probably because I haven’t been to the gym for a few weeks and I need to get back into yoga again (I’ve had nervy pain in my bad arm and shoulder as well). I don’t think the fear ever truly leaves, you just have to learn to try to shut it in a box. I had counselling for panic attacks about 18 months after diagnosis and I found it a great benefit. I saw a psychologist attached to my breast clinic who taught me different techniques for managing feelings of panic and stress. I also learned about basic cognitive behavioural therapy techniques from her and I still use them to help me cope. They are useful for getting me through the working week if I am particularly busy and have deadlines; I also use meditation when I have the time.
Give the counselling a go if it’s on offer, it may not be for you as it’s not for everyone, but at least you’ll have tried it.
Just to pick up on what lbx has said, when I was discharged from chemo and Herceptin my onc told me that it’s common to worry about aches and pains being more cancer, but a lot of the time they were aches and pains you had before but did not take too much notice of.
Thank you all for your reasuring words, my own GP was not in today,so saw the one who originally sent me to BC, she looked back on my records, and said I had a good cancer,(what ever that is) she said TNBC, grade 3 and I think DCIS or something else invasive, I will check with my own GP next time, my stomach feels fine she said, but as done some bloods, she feels my symptoms are anxiety and just getting older, lol, she says she tells patients over 40 if you dont work up with a pain than your dead, lol.
LULU- I would love someone to tell me im cured in Leicester they just talk about 5 years and 10 years survival rates.so many websites tell you different things.
I need to retrain my brain, I think im going to give counselling a go .
BTW Cherub, my pain is in my left rib too :)thanks for sharing how you cope, im definately going to give it a try ,
hi all not sure if I am posting this question in the right place but just wanted to hear other people’s views. I asked my consultant at my last check up about reoccurrence and should my cancer come back (grade 3 her 2 positive, diagnosed May 2009) when is it likely to do so. I realise that is a question that no consultant could possibly ever give an answer to but he did say that if it was going to come back it is more than likely to come back in the first 2 years, has anyone else heard of this? Does this mean from diagnosis or when all treatment has finished? Cancer can return at any point in time, we all hope that it never rears it’s ugly head again but at the moment I seem to be going through a period of worrying about it returning which is such a waste of time and energy as what will be will be. I had hoped that over time the worrying would get less but I seem to be going the over way at the moment.
Take care all
Wills (Karen)
You are right to say that nobody can answer your question so listen to your logical self and try and let go of it. Worrying about it won’t change anything and in fact if you spend most of your time worrying about whether the cancer will come back the cancer will have won because it’s destroyed your happiness and peace of mind.
Even if it does come back it can be sorted again. I had a recurrence 5 years after finishing all the treatment (lumpectomy, chemo, rads & Tamoxifen) so then I had to have a mastectomy & Arimidex but that was SEVEN years ago and I am as healthy as anything now and live a full and active life. So please try and stop worrying, don’t let the cancer win.
I am interested by what you say here. I can remember when my oncologist told me back in 2006 that I was Her2 positive and they could now freely offer Herceptin (it was just at the back of all the cases of women with early stage Her2+ BC who went to court). I asked them about recurrence and was told in my case if it was to recur it would be 10 years after the original diagnosis. I asked the same when I was about to finish Herceptin in spring 2008 and was told then I had a low to moderate chance (up to 40%) of it coming back before the end of 5 year remission given my diagnosis (33mm lump,stage 3, cancer in 1 lymph node, Her 2+). At the time I just figured I could live with that as it was the only way I could deal with it. At 5 years I’m not counting off the days until 10 years as I just want to get on with living and enjoying myself. I had an aunty who lived over 30 years beyond BC and she is my benchmark. She had a mastectomy and it was in every lymph node; she died at the age of 83.