Counselling - where do i go?

[Guest user]

I found that the best place to get counselling was from my Macmillan nurse. They have such wide experience and can also provide practical help. I had originally thought that they only worked with patients at end of life, but mine has been marvelous, helping with both practical and emotional problems. Hope things get better for you.
Love Lynn

[Guest user]

I found that the best place to get counselling was from my Macmillan nurse. They have such wide experience and can also provide practical help. I had originally thought that they only worked with patients at end of life, but mine has been marvelous, helping with both practical and emotional problems. Hope things get better for you.
Love Lynn

[cherub]

Hi Naz,

Really sorry to hear you are having a difficult time and feel you need counselling. My own crisis point was about 6 months after I finished chemo and I was still on Herceptin. I started having panic attacks (also not helped by going through the menopause pretty much overnight on chemo) and it was that classic feeling cancer partients talk about, the one where you have stepped off a cliff. I went to my GP to ask about counselling and he refused to refer as he said I just needed to acept I'd had cancer and get on with it. Not very helpful as I felt so vulnerable. Thankfully that GP has now retired and I don't like to think he may have spoken to another BC lady in such an offhand way.

I was lucky in that my breast clinic / oncology clinic had a psychologist attached to it, so I was referred via my Consultant Oncologist and got an appointment within a couple of weeks as she said my case was very urgent. I had 6 hour long sessions spaced out, the first couple fortnightly, then a month apart, then 6 weeks. The spacing was becuase she was giving me things to go away and work on, she also taught me a few cognitive behavioural techniques. Provided you can get on with the counsellor, I found this worked really well for me and 5 years on I still use the techniques. I also find a bit of meditation is helpful and you can find a lot of things to download if you dig round, even just things lasting 10 mins you could sit and do in an armchair if you have a quiet moment.

Lastly, I was lucky enough to have a new Maggies Centre in my area and was a volunteer on a stress management course with them for 6 sessions. We also kept our little group going for a while as a way of venting how we were feeling. They also now have people who are qualified in counselingl and I know at my one you can walk in off the street and speak to somebody, even just make a cup of tea. Is there perhaps a cancer centre or a Maggies near you that you could maybe try?

What I liked about couselling was the fact the the psychogist didn't know me, wasn't involved in any previous aspect of my treatment and I had to tell her in my own words. Their part of the process is to listen (at the time I had major problems with the way my sister was behaving towards me), then to suggest how you can help yourself. It's important to remember that you are the only one who can move life on from this episode of it.

Hope some of this may help you.

[June_BCC]

Hello Naz

I am sorry to hear you are having such a difficult time at the moment.

Maybe you would like to talk things through with a member of our helpline staff who are there to offer 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 10.00 to 2.00.

best wishes

June, moderator

[NAZ]

Hello everyone

Where can i go to get sone counselling?
I have so much 'stuff 'going on in me head right now, that i need an outlet.
I don't want to go on a waiting list, i need to get everything out now.

It has been 3 years since my dx, i have not come terms with losing my breast at all.
I have had one failed reconstruction, my surgeon performed some catastrophic surgery on me, it was a cosmetic disaster!
It all fell apart on me one year ago and i had to deal with not knowing who was going to put things right - it was so horrid.
I fell into the hands of a lovely new surgeon and he has tried hard to make things better for me due to the incisions made by the old surgeon - he butchered me!
But with the best will in the world, it is never going to be as good as it should be and i have to get my head around that now.
I made a complaint to the hospital and got a firm of solicitors involved. I must now wait 4 months to wait and see if the independent medical expert supports my case so we can go forward and make a claim for compensation.
I thought things would be better now, but the events of the last 3 years are so fresh in my mind.
I can't bear to think that there is no legal case to answer, as to me this would mean that al my stress and anxiety has all been for nothing.
I tried to get answers from the original surgeon and did not get the answers i was seeking.
I want to know how the surgeon did not realise he had stretched my skin so much that it was at breaking point, how he could have positioned my implant incorrectly and performed a disastrous mastopexy and then only realised while i was in the operating table that he could not do the nipple recon because he would have burst my implant in doing so! It was not even the surgeon who realised this, it was another member of the team!

So many questions, it is all catching up with me, so much anger, upset and frustration inside me still.
There is not a that goes by when i don't think about what has gone on and for now it is showing no signs of relenting and leaving me be.