QuoteReplyTopic: cancerversary Posted: Apr 30 2014 at 11:24pm
Hello friends, yesterday was my first cancerversary. Hard to forget because I got "that call" on my 55th birthday. So now the two are forever combined in some twisted irony. Well, I thought I was handling things pretty well and even enjoyed celebrating #56. But today I had annual check up with my primary and was surprised by the emotions that surfaced after giving her the update on my TNBC. She was compassionate and well meaning and tried to encourage me by saying "no one dies of breast cancer these days." Really??? I sat in my car afterward and cried. I felt so alone and overwhelmed. It totally took me by surprise. The mental healing takes longer than the physical...
Diagnosed 4/2013. 2A, grade 3, no nodes, BRCA-. Lumpectomy LB 5/2013, 2.5 cm. ACT followed by RADS. Completed treatment.
Dear LottaLenya, Congratulation on your Birthday and you cancerversary. Yes, the mental healing does take much longer than the physical. You think you are traveling along just fine; and then those suppressed emotions come flying out and we have to deal with them. Sitting and crying in the car was a good, healthy way to let your emotions out. Also posting and sharing with us is another good way. We have all been there, one way or another and WE UNDERSTAND! Cancer can be and is a lonely disease. All those around us want to understand and help, and they do; BUT UNLESS THEY'VE BEEN THERE, THEY DON'T KNOW THE DEPTH OF THE EMOTIONS WE FEEL. I was diagnosed on June 9th, 2006. I am coming up on my 8th cancerversary and it does get better.
Love and God Bless, Lillie
Dx 6/06 age 65,IDC-TNBC Stage IIb,Gr3,2cm,BRCA- 6/06 L/Mast/w/SNB,1of3 Nodes+ 6/06 Axl. 9 nodes- 8/8 thru 11/15 Chemo (Clin-Trial) DD A/Cx4 -- DD taxol+gemzar x4 No Rads. No RECON - 11/2018-12 yrs NED
I think we all suffer from some form of PTSD or PTC(Cancer)D. We may try to push it down, hide from it, but it's just under the surface and anniversaries can definitely cause an emotional trigger. I agree the mental healing takes much longer to recover. My cancer center offers free counseling to cancer patients and survivors. I've found it's a good place to go and talk to someone. We're working on cognitive behavior changes. It was nice to talk to someone and find the many emotions and feelings that we have are very common with all cancer patients.
I posted this study under another thread, but I think the cancer community is just starting to realize that treating a cancer patient involves more than just surgery, chemo and radiation. It involves the mental and emotional side too.
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