feelings

maxfield
maxfield Member Posts: 3
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
I just finished radiation treatments yesterday. Right now, I kind of feel like "OK, what's next?" Are people getting blase about breast cancer since more of us survive?

Comments

  • chenheart
    chenheart Member Posts: 5,159
    #2
    Did you also have surgery and chemo prior to radiation? I am not so sure that people are blase~but I would almost welcome that! Maybe that would mean that we are indeed winning the BC battle in droves, and it will soon go the way of polio! So~you have finished rads~what's next is, if that meant the end of your treatment, LIVE, GIRL, LIVE!!!! Do your follow-ups, see the time stretch between them as you have more survivor months under your belt, and know that you are on the positive side of statistics!
    We are on a rollercoaster ride, no seatbelts, oil on the tracks and its starting to rain! So you know what we do? We hold on for dear life! And that about sums up feelings....for me anyway! And I am especially glad that I have friends and family to hang on to and with on this Life Journey !
  • seof
    seof Member Posts: 819 Member
    #3
    chenheart said:

    Did you also have surgery and chemo prior to radiation? I am not so sure that people are blase~but I would almost welcome that! Maybe that would mean that we are indeed winning the BC battle in droves, and it will soon go the way of polio! So~you have finished rads~what's next is, if that meant the end of your treatment, LIVE, GIRL, LIVE!!!! Do your follow-ups, see the time stretch between them as you have more survivor months under your belt, and know that you are on the positive side of statistics!
    We are on a rollercoaster ride, no seatbelts, oil on the tracks and its starting to rain! So you know what we do? We hold on for dear life! And that about sums up feelings....for me anyway! And I am especially glad that I have friends and family to hang on to and with on this Life Journey !

    I am new to the journey, just started chemo, supposed to do it 3 months, then re-evaluate, but probably surgery, more chemo, then radiation will be the "end" of treatment. I suppose it may feel like a let-down, kind of like when you are pregnant for 9 months and everyone is worried about the baby, but once the baby is born alive and well, the pregnancy is over. Not that worries are gone, but they are different. Like I say, I'm not to that point yet, so I may not know what I'm talking about, but that's how it seems to me here and now. seof
  • Susan956
    Susan956 Member Posts: 510
    #4
    I actually felt more afraid right after the end of treatment. When I was in treatment I was fighting the beast... then when treatment ended it was like... I was just waiting for it to come back. I finally got my fear in check and STARTED LIVING AGAIN. It feels great... but I will admit that it took me awhile to get my head re-screwed back on. I am now a 2 year survivor... having fun and living life to it fullest...

    Take Care... God Bless all

    Susan
  • cabbott
    cabbott Member Posts: 1,039 Member
    #5
    Susan956 said:

    I actually felt more afraid right after the end of treatment. When I was in treatment I was fighting the beast... then when treatment ended it was like... I was just waiting for it to come back. I finally got my fear in check and STARTED LIVING AGAIN. It feels great... but I will admit that it took me awhile to get my head re-screwed back on. I am now a 2 year survivor... having fun and living life to it fullest...

    Take Care... God Bless all

    Susan

    Doctors, hospitals, community support groups really should be looking into what survivors need after treatment to get on with the process of life after medical treatment. We need to be taught what WE can do once the doctors are finished to add more years to our life and more life in our years. It is almost a secret that ordinary stuff like daily exercise and a colorful high veggie,high fiber, low fat diet actually prevent cancer as well as many medicines. Combined with medicines, they have even more success at keeping us well. In addition, once diagnosed with cancer, we are at high risk for getting other cancers. Knowing what tests to take and when also is something we need to know. We also need to know how to deal with the side effects of treatment and the emotional baggage of living through a scary diagnosis. It would be nice if our regular physicians knew all this and could take the time to educate us, but good luck if you plan to depend on them. Mine admitted that he knew little or nothing about the treatment of lymphadema. He has no time to research the effects of diet or exercise on cancer. He knows a bit about what cancer is from med school, but a bit is about all. I can research my own answers now on the web, but what about folks that don't have the ability or resources to do that? We have structured treatment protocols. We need structured after-active treatment protocols too!
  • 3cbrca
    3cbrca Member Posts: 206
    #6
    I just finished a couple of days ago and I'm in the same boat. After 5 months of chemo, a bilateral mastectomy and 35 radiation treatments, it is a great relief but I feel the same way - Now What? I had more than 20 positive nodes and I have no idea what to expect - I'm hopeful about the AI I'm taking, but I also know my prognosis is grim. I go back and forth between accepting that it may show up in a few months and giddy hopefulness that the AI will catch the micromets.

    I take heart in other's postings that slowly but surely I will get more comfortable with living with the unknown. I was an early stage colon cancer survivor and now with breast cancer, I rarely think about colon cancer recurrence, other than at my regular checkups!

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