Cancer Fear, an article

JanJan63
JanJan63 Member Posts: 2,478 Member
in Colorectal Cancer #1

I just read this and really liked it. I hope you all enjoy it, too.

http://www.curetoday.com/community/dana-stewart/2016/01/breaking-up-with-fear-life-after-a-cancer-diagnosis

Comments

  • Trubrit
    Trubrit Member Posts: 5,804 Member
    #2
    Not there yet

    I haven't reached that stage of being able to divorce the fear of recurrance. Its not that it controls my every thought, but its there, several times a day. 

    It will certainly be a wonderful when I can go to bed and think 'I haven't thought about Cancer all day'. 

    Sue - Trubrit

  • NewHere
    NewHere Member Posts: 1,428 Member
    #3
    Good Article

    I try all the time to forget about it, but no matter what there is always going to be something.  Does it result in fear?  I am not sure it is quite the proper term.  (Of course there are times where fear may be proper).  

    But it is difficult to totally divorce it from the day.   But I do not let it get too overwhelming.  Because if any of us got dragged down that path, then it "wins."  Go with every good moment and let the bad ones slide off as quickly as possible.  And I try to let the bad moments being more annoying than anything else (some things where the neuropathy in my hands particularly.)

  • JanJan63
    JanJan63 Member Posts: 2,478 Member
    #4
    Trubrit said:

    Not there yet

    I haven't reached that stage of being able to divorce the fear of recurrance. Its not that it controls my every thought, but its there, several times a day. 

    It will certainly be a wonderful when I can go to bed and think 'I haven't thought about Cancer all day'. 

    Sue - Trubrit

    I pray that we will have that

    I pray that we will have that peace of mind some day. All of us. Every last one of us. That they'll have some simple thing that they can give us and then say 'it's gone'. I pray that for everyone with an affliction that can't be cured. MS, Lou Gherig's, Alzheimers, all of them. 

    I find that I don't think about it as much as I did but its still there much of the time. And, depending on my results this Friday, it may change how much I think about it and my future. That's what scares me about the test. Not that they'll find the spots in my lung are cancer mets, they can radiate that and there's a good chance they can get rid of them. It's that I'll worry more and the results will completely change my way of thinking about the future. Right now I'm feeling pretty confident. I feel good, I passed a breathing test with flying colours, my CEA is .8. But if they are mets I will go back to feeling scared all the time and wonder when it will show up somewhere else. Or that the test might even show that there are mets in other areas.

  • Sharronoffaith
    Sharronoffaith Member Posts: 76
    #5
    NewHere said:

    Good Article

    I try all the time to forget about it, but no matter what there is always going to be something.  Does it result in fear?  I am not sure it is quite the proper term.  (Of course there are times where fear may be proper).  

    But it is difficult to totally divorce it from the day.   But I do not let it get too overwhelming.  Because if any of us got dragged down that path, then it "wins."  Go with every good moment and let the bad ones slide off as quickly as possible.  And I try to let the bad moments being more annoying than anything else (some things where the neuropathy in my hands particularly.)

    Amazing people

    hey everyone, 

    I am fairly new here, but right off the bat, I was so impressed by the positive karma here, and the number of people who reach out any time someone posts a question or concern.  You are all so incredible, and I am deeply inspired.

    So, the fear of cancer may always be there for me, and maybe quite a few folks here, but it has not effected the kindness and compassion I see poured out here.  If anything, stupid cancer has opened my eyes to all the little things I would have let just roll by me each day.

    For me anyway, I mostly have the fear of some of these procedures.  Some days I feel like cancer treatment has really bipassed the 20th century evolution of medicine.  But, then again, there are other many diseases that have archaic treatments also.

    I'm just going to take my vitamins, D3 especially, and visualize myself getting better.  I think fear is less when I feel I am actively involved in fighting this thing.

    With gratitude and prayers for all,

    sharron

     

     

  • NewHere
    NewHere Member Posts: 1,428 Member
    #6
    Sharronoffaith said:

    Amazing people

    hey everyone, 

    I am fairly new here, but right off the bat, I was so impressed by the positive karma here, and the number of people who reach out any time someone posts a question or concern.  You are all so incredible, and I am deeply inspired.

    So, the fear of cancer may always be there for me, and maybe quite a few folks here, but it has not effected the kindness and compassion I see poured out here.  If anything, stupid cancer has opened my eyes to all the little things I would have let just roll by me each day.

    For me anyway, I mostly have the fear of some of these procedures.  Some days I feel like cancer treatment has really bipassed the 20th century evolution of medicine.  But, then again, there are other many diseases that have archaic treatments also.

    I'm just going to take my vitamins, D3 especially, and visualize myself getting better.  I think fear is less when I feel I am actively involved in fighting this thing.

    With gratitude and prayers for all,

    sharron

     

     

    This

    For me anyway, I mostly have the fear of some of these procedures.

    It is scary, but once done, you realize that the fear is greater than the reality to some degree.  It is what some people asked me or said, "If I ever found out I had cancer, I am not sure what I would do or handle it."  I am sure I probably that was the thought for me.  This is the huge monster living under your bed or in your closet that kept you awake at night as a child.  But once actually in it, it changes.  Don't get me wrong, not saying it is easy or not without fear.  When I put on the gown getting ready for my surgery, I told my wife and doctor they were going to have to catch me because I was going to head out of the hospital in my gown even though it was the winter.  And there was a bit more than just a joke in there.  But within a couple of weeks it was becoming more just a memory.  

    And yes, medicine does have many things that you figure we would be way past at this time.  But there has been strides and hopefully there will be easier approaches.  If you think about it, there is a vaccine for HPV to prevent cervical cancer.  If they can unravel more of this, who knows what the future holds.  

    Hang in there and hang around here.  Good place and good people.

  • neons356
    neons356 Member Posts: 57 Member
    #7
    NewHere said:

    This

    For me anyway, I mostly have the fear of some of these procedures.

    It is scary, but once done, you realize that the fear is greater than the reality to some degree.  It is what some people asked me or said, "If I ever found out I had cancer, I am not sure what I would do or handle it."  I am sure I probably that was the thought for me.  This is the huge monster living under your bed or in your closet that kept you awake at night as a child.  But once actually in it, it changes.  Don't get me wrong, not saying it is easy or not without fear.  When I put on the gown getting ready for my surgery, I told my wife and doctor they were going to have to catch me because I was going to head out of the hospital in my gown even though it was the winter.  And there was a bit more than just a joke in there.  But within a couple of weeks it was becoming more just a memory.  

    And yes, medicine does have many things that you figure we would be way past at this time.  But there has been strides and hopefully there will be easier approaches.  If you think about it, there is a vaccine for HPV to prevent cervical cancer.  If they can unravel more of this, who knows what the future holds.  

    Hang in there and hang around here.  Good place and good people.

    I think the monkey will always be on my back

    It's been 22 years since I beat the beast. I had a long overdue colonoscopy a few days ago and my surgeon found what he called a precancerous polyp, which he couldn't remove. So I have to go into the hospital tomorrow so that he can try and remove it with more sophisticated equipment. I've worried since the beginning that I may have the cancer return, and this episode certainly won't help.

    Carl

  • JanJan63
    JanJan63 Member Posts: 2,478 Member
    #8
    neons356 said:

    I think the monkey will always be on my back

    It's been 22 years since I beat the beast. I had a long overdue colonoscopy a few days ago and my surgeon found what he called a precancerous polyp, which he couldn't remove. So I have to go into the hospital tomorrow so that he can try and remove it with more sophisticated equipment. I've worried since the beginning that I may have the cancer return, and this episode certainly won't help.

    Carl

    Good luck Carl! Get that bad

    Good luck Carl! Get that bad boy out of there! Be well, be NED!!!

    Jan

  • JanJan63
    JanJan63 Member Posts: 2,478 Member
    #9
    Sharronoffaith said:

    Amazing people

    hey everyone, 

    I am fairly new here, but right off the bat, I was so impressed by the positive karma here, and the number of people who reach out any time someone posts a question or concern.  You are all so incredible, and I am deeply inspired.

    So, the fear of cancer may always be there for me, and maybe quite a few folks here, but it has not effected the kindness and compassion I see poured out here.  If anything, stupid cancer has opened my eyes to all the little things I would have let just roll by me each day.

    For me anyway, I mostly have the fear of some of these procedures.  Some days I feel like cancer treatment has really bipassed the 20th century evolution of medicine.  But, then again, there are other many diseases that have archaic treatments also.

    I'm just going to take my vitamins, D3 especially, and visualize myself getting better.  I think fear is less when I feel I am actively involved in fighting this thing.

    With gratitude and prayers for all,

    sharron

     

     

    Stress is one of the worst

    Stress is one of the worst things you can do to make an environment in your body that's open for cancer so a positive attitude will really help you. I'm generally quite positive about my outcome but I have bad days, usually before or after tests, where I start having negative thoughts. I cuddle my dogs and wonder if I'll outlive them, I look at a tree and wonder how tall I'll see it grow, I think about my hsuband and daughter and wonder what they'll do when I'm gone. It's dark and negative thinking and sometimes it's impossible not to get bogged down in it.

    Yes, some of the procedures are not pleasant but most are carefully set up to minimize discomfort. I had some extremely painful procedures but they were from additional issues that a regular cancer patient wouldn't necessarily have. Lots of people tell me they couldn't have gne through what I have and I say what choice did I have? You do what you have to do. The doctor tells you what the next step is and you just do it. Giving up is not an option. I have a close friend who is waiting for her colonoscopy right now and I strongly suspect she's going to be diagnosed with colon cancer because of her symptoms. She told me she'll refuse treatment because she saw what I went through. That scares me and makes me sad. I want people to be encouraged by my fight, not dismayed by it. My husband is having a colonoscopy on Friday and he said that if he has it he'll have to be as cool as his wife was and just get through it. 

  • Trubrit
    Trubrit Member Posts: 5,804 Member
    #10
    JanJan63 said:

    Stress is one of the worst

    Stress is one of the worst things you can do to make an environment in your body that's open for cancer so a positive attitude will really help you. I'm generally quite positive about my outcome but I have bad days, usually before or after tests, where I start having negative thoughts. I cuddle my dogs and wonder if I'll outlive them, I look at a tree and wonder how tall I'll see it grow, I think about my hsuband and daughter and wonder what they'll do when I'm gone. It's dark and negative thinking and sometimes it's impossible not to get bogged down in it.

    Yes, some of the procedures are not pleasant but most are carefully set up to minimize discomfort. I had some extremely painful procedures but they were from additional issues that a regular cancer patient wouldn't necessarily have. Lots of people tell me they couldn't have gne through what I have and I say what choice did I have? You do what you have to do. The doctor tells you what the next step is and you just do it. Giving up is not an option. I have a close friend who is waiting for her colonoscopy right now and I strongly suspect she's going to be diagnosed with colon cancer because of her symptoms. She told me she'll refuse treatment because she saw what I went through. That scares me and makes me sad. I want people to be encouraged by my fight, not dismayed by it. My husband is having a colonoscopy on Friday and he said that if he has it he'll have to be as cool as his wife was and just get through it. 

    10 minute rule
    It's dark and negative thinking and sometimes it's impossible not to get bogged down in it.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    When I first got diagnosed, and all those crazy, morbid thought started to dominate, I decided I would give myself 10 minutes a day to 'go there'. 10 minutes of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, and then I was done.

    It worked for me.

    Sue - Trubrit

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