Handling stress from waiting for treatment decisions?

coco2008 said:

Need help

Anyone else have suggestions?

Watch a movie or read or book

If you have to go through mastectomy subscription to any movie service will be helpful.

Hugs

I HATE H ATE  HATE TO WAIT...BUT ONE THING IN HIND SIGHT THAT HELPED ME was using a journal. I rec'd one as a gift from friend and one from Cancer center. I thought goofy, silly but now i read it every once in awhile and I now see it as helpful. A place to vent (prior to finding this site)

Denise

Kvbrooks1 said:

Waiting is the worst

I can relate to what you are going through.  Although I tried many things to distract me it was very difficult to even maintain my focus. The best thing for me was to surround myself with others, at home with family or at work with staff and students.  The only way to stay engaged in distraction for me was if others would not let me have the time or energy to think about myself.  

I am and have always been a person who can handle anything but the unknown.  So sometimes as crazy as it may sound I just tried to work out scenarios for what I might do given different responses from my care providers.  Crazy I know to think about thinking more about the unknown, but if I was going to worry about it I was going to try to work out a response I could live with, it felt a bit more constructive and for a while I could relax with my decision.

The hardest thing about cancer is never knowing what turn it might take.  I have always believed in the power of positive thought, but you can't think your way through this one.  You can only choose to replace your fearful and negative thoughts with others that you can find even momentary comfort in.

I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

Kathy

is never knowing what turn it might take."   That is true of ANY chronic/acute disease.  Do I 'like' having to have dealt with IBC - that is an emphatic NO!  However, there are many other disease that I would not have wanted to deal with more.  Cancer has never stopped me from doing what I want to do.(Age [67 next month] is slowing me down some but definately not stoppiing me - Sat we will be doing the 7k Volks March up to the arm of the carving at Crazy Horse Memorial.  I care for/ride our horses, bike, mow yards for people who need a bit of help and my new passions since DX are flyfishing/fly tying/rod building [I got into rod building through Project Healing Waters which is a fantastic program for Veterans])  I have always been a very active 'outdoor' woman and IBC has not slowed me down at all.  Sat. we will be doing the Volks March up to the arm of Crazy Horse at Crazy Horse Memorial.  There are so many other health issues that would have prevented me from doing it - but not IBC.

The hardest thing - in a way - for me is knowing what Hubby goes through.  He lost his Mother when he was 9 to Cervical Cancer.  I have always been incrediably healthy so it hit him hard - we'd been married 33+ yrs when I was DX'd.

Winyan - The Power Within

Susan

I know exactly what you mean!  After my diagnosis, I got into surgery very quickly.  It was only 2 weeks from diagnosis.  But then I had to wait 3 weeks to get an appointment with a med. oncologist.  I spent most of the time researching various treatment options for my pathology and making an educated guess as to what the MO would recommend.  It turned out that my guess was a more aggressive treatment than what she recommended.  She referred me to a radiation oncologist, who was out of town and I had to wait again to get an appointment.  While waiting, I lined up another appointment with a M.O. at a different hospital to get a second opinion about treatment.  So then when the R.O. called to make an appointment, I had to tell them I wanted to wait for the second opinion before starting with another new doctor.  In total it has been almost 6 weeks from my surgery and I'm still don't know for sure what treatment I'll end up doing.  It's enough to drive a person crazy!

I am coping with the waiting by reading a lot of books, playing music, exercising on my new elliptical machine, and reading all the cancer bulletin boards like this one.

coco2008 said:

answers soon

I will have most of my treatment plan next Tuesday.  Then just waiting for genetic testing.

Hope you get your answes soon as well, and get through treatment with minimal side effects.

Good luck next Tuesday.  Post an update for us. 

Hugs, Debby

coco2008 said:

Hopes

What are the chances that they tell me it is all a crazy mistake and I am fine?  Oh well.  A girl has to dream.

I wish it was a mistake coco!  Good luck!

coco2008 said:

answers soon

I will have most of my treatment plan next Tuesday.  Then just waiting for genetic testing.

Hope you get your answes soon as well, and get through treatment with minimal side effects.

Good luck flatpikr and coco!

Hugs, Jan

Lynn Smith said:

Keep dreaming

Keep dreaming all things will be fine because dreams do come true. It happened many many times in my life.I've been close to death.I was able to pray to live.Some don't get that chance.My daughter-in-law didn't have the chance a few months ago but everyone praying for her worked.She alive but she's having some difficulties.Now it dealing with all that happened throughout her long illness and 5 week coma.But she tells us she's so Thankful. She's a testimonial.

Lynn Smith

I am sending more good luck and even more big hugs!