cancer may be back, don't think i can go through it all again.

cabbott said:

Cancer and stress
I think you are pretty normal if having cancer caused you stress! It is really Really REALLY common for cancer survivors to have feelings of panic, flashbacks, nightmares,depression,sleep problems--all the problems that go with post traumatic stress syndrome. Unfortunately, many doctors (being medical personel)often miss the fact that to patients cancer often seems like more than just a few cells gone wacky. Since we don't see it as something like diabetes or the flu, getting diagnosed and then getting treated is a lot more like being involved in a home assault or unasked for surprise attack. We end up with the same symptoms as soldiers who were attacked. Like the soldiers, we come back to family members who are totally unprepared for the emotional stuff we have to deal with.

Fortunately there are decent treatments for post traumatic stress syndrome. If you were going to see specialist about it, they would evaluate you for the need for meds to blunt some of the worst symptoms. Also they would get you in a group where you could talk about what happened over and over. It's not that you've gone crazy or mentally ill! You see, our brains have several parts. One part of the brain is fairly primitive but protects us from really dangerous stuff. If we encounter something bad, that event imprints on that part of the brain. Anything that triggers that memory (smells, pictures, locations, sounds) sends us into a panic mode. It is a survival mechanism built into our brain. Maybe it would be useful for preventing us from walking into a lion's path a second time, but it isn't so useful in the medical setting, especially when it prevents us from getting the treatment we may need. Some folks are basketcases when it is time to go for a periodic check even when they are sure everything is okay. Perhaps I should say "most folks" or maybe that it happens to me too! It's the same stuff. Just a brain mechanism that is getting in the way of life when it is supposed to be "helping". The cool thing is the rest of your brain isn't so quick to panic. The more you review what happened, the more the memory moves into the thinking part of your brain. Eventually you have control of the memory and it doesn't cause you to have the same uncontrolled reaction. That's why counselors have folks that have been through really bad events talk or draw what happened to them over and over and over. That's why discussion groups like this can really help. Journaling helps some folks. They like to write and then read what they have written. Others are into art and like to paint or draw their thoughts and memories. Sharing with other survivors is best because family members are often burned out and really don't have the same view of things as the survivors. I work as a counselor and I am also a cancer survivor (both breast and lung cancer). The stress is real and it can be treated.

Cancer can be treated too. Even if it comes back. Even if you get another kind! I have both breast cancer (2002) and lung cancer (2006) so I know what I'm talking about.[And in 2004 they thought I had ovarian cancer so I also had surgery for that....] As one survivor put it, you don't want to waste all the time and energy you put into treating it the first time around by giving up the second time(or third time...) around. She was also a multi-cancer survivor. That too is more common than you want to know. But our doctors know what to watch for and are keeping a close eye on things. That is comforting to me, because I know that catching things early gives us more options. The guy on the street who is not going to the doctor is probably more at risk for major cancer problems. He just doesn't know it. yet.