When first dx a friend said, very flippantly, “You can’t worry about your bc, after all you might get hit by a bus tomorrow”
I never minded the ‘you’l be fine’, ‘bc is not a death sentence’ comments etc, but the comment above really rankled me, what an utterly ridiculous thing so say, sensible women in their 30’s simply do not just get hit by busses…
I can understand why you would be rankled by that comment, but I think I see where your friend is coming from as well.
Despite my dx, I don’t want to spend my life looking over my shoulder waiting for BC to bite me on the bum again. Once my initial treatment is finished (not counting the tamoxifen) I intend to ensure I have as rigorous follow-up screening as poss, but try and not allow anxiety to affect my life.
I’ve posted the comments below on another thread.
Maybe I’m odd, but I’ve decided to see if I can think of living my life as a risk sport! I drive almost daily on a dangerous stretch of road, I ride feisty and lively horses, I’ve been known to jump out of planes and abseil down high rise buildings. I intend to carry on eating the things I enjoy and drinking alcohol. Some of the ‘risks’ I take I have a choice in, others I don’t. I take certain precautions to minimise risks, but not every single one (some I can’t afford, some take the fun away!)
There are many things that could injure/maim/disable/kill me at some point in the future - despite my dx and current treatment BC is still just one of them.
D
PS. Had chemo today and the chemo nurse and I were discussing risk and anxiety and the lack of help offered patients (not just BC ones) to find coping strategies. Interestingly, she said that chemo nurses have a 28-30% higher risk of developing cancer themselves cos of handling the drugs.