Quick diagnosis and removal but now feeling down

Hi. I was diagnosed with DCIS cancer on 2nd August after standard mammogram in mid July. I then had the lump removed on 8th August. This meant I had cancer that I knew about for 6 days. I am now waiting to start radiotherapy. As there has been a bit of break I think it has finally hit me what has happened. My friends think I should be grateful that it was found and removed quickly and start to move on.
My husband is very supportive but I feel guilty that I am feeling so down as still processing the fact I had cancer in first place. But I won’t finish treatment til end of October due to me having holiday and waiting times. So it is not over even though cancer is gone.
Should I be getting over this by now?

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Dear Laineyh,

Welcome to the forum, we are all here for you. You have done so well in such a short time, one day your fine, within a few your have breast cancer, followed by radiotherapy. So much to take in, please be kind to yourself I always say one day at a time, sometime when this happens so fast we don’t know if we are Arthur or Martha.

How nice you have a holiday to look forward to and most of all a supportive husband, enjoy your break together, come back refreshed and ready for the next stage of treatment.

Wishing you, a very happy holiday, with health and happiness ahead. Please come back and let us know how you are getting along.

With love Tili :rainbow::pray::rainbow::pray:

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Hi @laineyh

Don’t give yourself a hard time over this - it was a whirlwind for you so no time to think about it really so it’s hitting you now . It’s all very well for people to think you should be relieved and grateful when they haven’t had this experience in themselves - yes we all know people who are much worse off but comparisons are not helpful . You feel differently about your body and it does change the way you see the world . Is there a local BC support group that you could join ? I found ours helpful at your stage . After your radiotherapy you could look into doing a Movie g Forwards course and if your BCN offers a Holistic Needs Assessment then that may also help .

You are not alone with this many of us struggle after treatment to one extent or another to find our new normal - I was one of those as well. But this will pass . Xx

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@laineyh - please stop beating yourself up over how you are feeling. I’m now 7 months on from surgery and 4 months on from radiotherapy and starting to feel more like the “new old me”, if that makes sense. But it doesn’t take much to knock me back down again as I found out this past week. It is surprising and a bit of a shock as to how much cancer changes you and you haven’t any control over that, all you can do is be kind to yourself and slowly you will come out the other side but it can be a rough ride. Like you I had a pretty easy and straightforward treatment journey and yes I know I am blessed that it was found so early but if you haven’t had cancer then you have no idea what it’s like. I had people say to me “oh weren’t you lucky it was found so early” or “oh you’ll be fine” and then they never mention it again. I even had one ask me how long they’d given me to live. They haven’t got a clue.

Keep posting here, we all understand and remember “every day in every way I am stronger “. Sending you a big hug xx

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Hello
You’ve had a shock and lots to process. Be kind to yourself and give yourself time to process.
Its a journey with lots of conflicting emotions and no one can understand it if they haven’t been through it themself.
Enjoy all the good things but also allow yourself to take the time you need to process what’s happened. It’s all a perfectly normal reaction.

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Hiya , i cant believe our stories are so similar. I too was diagnosed with DCIS grade 3 on 1st August after a routine mammogram recall. I had a lumpectomy on 27th August and results showed clear margins but will need RT in aim to prevent return due to high grade. I live alone and remember waking up every morning (before surgery) and saying to myself, " i have breast cancer." It’s all been over so quickly, and I’m not sure if I’ve grasped it. Sometimes, i feel a bit of a fraud :confused: as others have to undergo treatments for many months. Im so glad you have support. Be kind to yourself and allow yourself to feel whatever you feel. it’s your right

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Thank you. It is actually good to know you are feeling the same . Apologies if that is wrong thing to say.

Sorry you have no other support but glad you are trying to be positive. I have some ok days and some really down days. I think we have to be kind to ourselves and not feel guilty about others but that is not easy to do. Keep going be strong and know there are others on this forum who are happy to listen. I don’t normally write on forums like this but everyone seems so caring and supportive on here

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Its so nice to know we have in some small way helped each other in understanding these varied feelings. This is a very confusing time and we all respond differently, there are no rules to follow we just have to allow ourselves to feel what we feel without guilt or shame. Be kind to ourselves as well as each other. We are all warriors and together with support, we can beat this.