Hi! I got diagnosed with BC September 2023 and had last radiotherapy session yesterday. I had breast surgery ( lumpectomy )and after waiting for results found out it hadn’t spread and I’m on letrazole for 4 to 5 years. I’ve had to ma age quite a lot on my own and have found that any kind of books and knitting are a great distraction. I’m glad that I’m able to start taking my homoeopathic equivalent to anti depressants tablets. They’re called HTP 5 ( griffonia seeds) as I had to stop them during the cancer treatment. I took my first one today and I’ll take another one later today. My part time work has been non existent lately but I’m going back to that soon and hopefully moving house soon. It’s been really tough but with my family and friends I got there! I may even take anti depressants from my GP if necessary. And keeping a journal starting today. Thanks again for everything NHS.
I am sorry you are managing on your own. I was 48 at my first diagnosis and was living alone then, and working and I decided the best thing was to go back to work as soon as possible. I was very depressed but at least working kept my mind off cancer treatment. I had radiotherapy at a hospital only about fifteen mins walk from my office so I’d go there every weekday for 15 days in April 2004. I don’t think I shall ever forget it but this time I’m 68 and retired. The first time it horrified me as I had a mortgage on my house which I hadn’t paid off, so I did everything I could to pay it off in lump sums. Not that easy in this day and age. I claimed attendance allowance which has helped a bit but they are reviewing it now so maybe I will lose it. You can only get it if you are 65 or over. I was on anti-depressants too and I am now if that’s what sertraline is. It has certainly made me much less miserable. I have an ill husband now, he’s also depressed and he suffers from bad anxiety too, always on the phone to the GP. I try and keep away from him as he’s made me feel a lot worse, but he seems unable to focus on anything else. Actually I can’t really talk as my main focus is on my health too! And I’m a bit of a misery guts. I write a garden column for the parish magazine which is great as it takes me off the subject of cancer at regular intervals. I am very keen to have a right hand page and a good write up in the Editorial to encourage people to read the rubbish I write! My Journals always seem to focus more on the doom and gloom than the happy times as when I’m happy I don’t tend to write much. But that’s me not you! Three cheers for the NHS in East Sussex and Guy’s as they’ve had to put up with a lot as I don’t like anyone in a white coat and criticise fat cancer nurses to their face when they suggest I may be eating the wrong foods. I have lost weight both times I was diagnosed with cancer, goodness knows why. Maybe it puts me off eating. Sorry to go on and on but I am alone at the moment as my hubbie has gone back to bed after ringing the docs to get more zopiclone a drug that he’s been having for sleeplessness.