Can't stop thinking about it!

swingbob
swingbob Member Posts: 1
edited March 2014 in Childhood Cancers #1
I have had a couple of friends diagnosed with cancer and it scares me that i will get it too. i think about all the time and can't seem to get it out of my head. I wondered if anyone had any tips on how to become more comfortable with cancer and not think about it 24/7. I am only a teenager and i shouldn't be worrying about it at my age.

Comments

  • chynabear
    chynabear Member Posts: 481 Member
    #2
    Hi. I am normally a poster to another board, but accidently clicked this one instead and wanted to give you some suggestions that work for me.

    You're right, you are young to be thinking about cancer. Nobody should be thinking about getting cancer, but we sometimes do. I'm sad to hear that you have already had friends, as in more than one, who have been diagnosed. Being diagnosed or knowing someone who has been diagnosed forces you to face your own mortality, which can be a very scary thing. You have to remember, cancer isn't something you can catch and these days, most are no longer the death sentences they once were.

    I was diagnosed at a young age, even if past teenage years, the day after I turned 27. My doctor said I had been living with cancer for over 5 years.

    I used to struggle with the fear of it coming back. Then, I realized that there are things I can do to prevent it. Start doing some research on cancer prevention. This gave me a sense of regaining power over cancer. Maybe it will help for you too.

    When I feel the overwhelming fear, I have learned to pray. I repeat over and over until the fear subsides, Please, take this fear from me. I am not strong enough to carry it alone. Help me carry it. Keep my body free of cancer. And I say it again and again until the fear is gone.

    If these suggestions don't work, find someone to talk to. As soon as I found these boards and started talking about it, my fears were greatly reduced. If you need to, see if you can talk to a councelor who is experienced with cancer patients. Or, find a support group.

    I know that life isn't worth living if it is lived in fear every day. I want to live life. So, I choose to master this fear and have a game plan. If the cancer comes back, I choose to fight it as hard as I can for as long as I can. If it is my turn, then it is my turn.

    I pray for you.
  • srisko
    srisko Member Posts: 33
    #3
    It is very difficult to not think about getting cancer when when people you have been diganosed. I was diganosed before I was a teenager. I was five years old when I was diagnosed with leukemia and I'm 23 now and I still have flashbacks to my treatments sometimes but, you can't let it affect your life. Have you talked with your parents about it? I would go to them. I'm very open and positive about mine. I use humor to help me get threw it. Talking about it helps me to cope with what I had. Somethings that could help you so cancer becomes "normal" to you is get involoved with things like Relay For Life and maybe volunteer at camps for kids with cancer. That's how one of my friends who never had cancer dealt with it and it helped her understand what my life is like. Are you involoved with after-school activities? That might be a good way to keep your mind off it. I mean I've been dealing this since I was a little girl and its hard to say what coping styles work for different people. You just need to find what coping styles work for you.
  • hojo_92
    hojo_92 Member Posts: 1
    #4
    I'm a teenager too, and as a cancer survivor, hopefully this will help. Not a lot of people get cancer, let alone as children. It is really weird that you've known so many people who have had cancer, especially at your age. I got mine when I was 10 and I was the only kid my age that I knew had had cancer. A tip that I can give you on how to be more comftorable with cancer is sharing your fears to your family and friends, and TALKING about it. As soon as the river starts to flow, you're anxiety will subside. Trust me, I used to think of relapsing all the time and once I started to talk to a good friend of mine about it, it's started to go away. Now, you won't EVER think about it (I still think about relapsing sometimes) but it will definetly help. And another important thing to do, that will help you stop thinking about cancer and all that mess, is just living each day to the fullest w/o regrets. You've got one life to live, and even with cancer, it's not necessarily the end of the world. If you just take it one day at a time, living life to its full extent, you shouldn't be held back by your fear of cancer. Hope this helped!

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