I'm a newbie

tootsie1
tootsie1 Member Posts: 5,044 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hi. I'm a newbie to this board and to cancer. I was diagnosed with colon cancer in Nov. and resected the day after Thanksgiving. It was Stage I. Yay! But I'm still having trouble sleeping and getting over the worry of it all. Just had a lump discovered in my breast. It is being checked again in 6 months. Supposedly okay, but of course it makes me wonder if I'll have more to deal with in the future... Do you ever feel like yourself again? Besides being tired, I just feel like a different animal now.

Comments

  • shmurciakova
    shmurciakova Member Posts: 906 Member
    #2
    Hi Tootsie!
    Welcome to the forum. In my opinion you have a wonderful prognosis. The likelihood, as your doctors I am sure have told you is that you will never have to deal with colon cancer again. We will all keep our fingers crossed about the breast lump. There are others on this forum who have had to deal with that, that I am sure will chime in. I guess you never know for sure what you will have to deal with in the future, so as the cliche answer goes, you have to take advantage of every day you are fortunate enough to be healthy and alive! I still deal with stress, read my post "stress case" farther down the page. Granted, I went through a much worse scenario than yours, so there is hope for you yet! (to feel like yourself again). I do have lucid moments of feeling like my old self, but I am certainly more paranoid about physical symptoms now - such as what I am dealing with at the moment. It is scary and you certainly are made more aware of the fragility of life, but I see no reason for you to be overly concerned. You are a different animal now, but you will be fine, and thrive!
    -Susan H.
  • jams67
    jams67 Member Posts: 925 Member
    #3
    Semi-colons are going to always know that life is precious and value each day. Like my husband said after my last scan, at least you know you don't have cancer, the rest of us sometimes wonder whether we have it or not. So look forward and enjoy your new lease on life.
    Jo Ann
  • tootsie1
    tootsie1 Member Posts: 5,044 Member
    #4
    shmurciakova said:

    Hi Tootsie!
    Welcome to the forum. In my opinion you have a wonderful prognosis. The likelihood, as your doctors I am sure have told you is that you will never have to deal with colon cancer again. We will all keep our fingers crossed about the breast lump. There are others on this forum who have had to deal with that, that I am sure will chime in. I guess you never know for sure what you will have to deal with in the future, so as the cliche answer goes, you have to take advantage of every day you are fortunate enough to be healthy and alive! I still deal with stress, read my post "stress case" farther down the page. Granted, I went through a much worse scenario than yours, so there is hope for you yet! (to feel like yourself again). I do have lucid moments of feeling like my old self, but I am certainly more paranoid about physical symptoms now - such as what I am dealing with at the moment. It is scary and you certainly are made more aware of the fragility of life, but I see no reason for you to be overly concerned. You are a different animal now, but you will be fine, and thrive!
    -Susan H.

    I know that I have a good prognosis, and I'm very happy about that. I think part of it is that I already suffer from post traumatic stress from my husband having a sudden cardiac arrest 7 years ago. He was miraculously revived and has a defibrillator. We've cherished life since then, but I've been fighting the stress since then, too. But thanks for the encouragement!
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    #5
    Welcome to the board! And to the semi-colons!

    I got the 2-fer...stage III rectal followed by stage II breast 6 months later...BUT, I am now NED, and have been for over 2 years (breast), 3 years (rectal).

    I can never go back to the person I was. I have faced death, and that changed me. I LOVE the 'new me', tho, and look at each day as a gift...
    Also, as I posted before (it should be my mantra...lol!) Cancer got 2 years of my life, it shall get NO MORE!!!

    Hugs, Kathi
  • LOUSWIFT
    LOUSWIFT Member Posts: 371 Member
    #6
    Welcome to our group and sorry you're here too. I doubt that many semi-colons ever see life the same. The one thing that helps here is seeing that we all share the same fear of the monster but we don't have to face it alone. Your prognosis sounds very good. Good luck
  • Joy1216
    Joy1216 Member Posts: 290 Member
    #7
    I was diagnosed with Stage I colon cancer March 06 and had a resection that month. It took me about a year and a half to really feel great. Everyone's different and I seem to recover slowly from surgery. I don't think you ever feel like your old self, which is good. You reach a new normal and your life changes after cancer, especially in terms of what is important to you. My faith in God was strong to begin with and is even stronger now. I never asked, "Why me?" I just concentrated on recuperating and getting on with my life. I am still hyper vigilant when it comes to my health. I have gone for the colonoscopies and annual physicals and have every little ache and pain checked out (like when I fell off my treadmill). I talk with everyone I meet about the need for screening colonoscopies. Several people have gone for colonoscopies and had pre-cancerous polyps removed, so I am doing some good.
    Joy
  • KierstenRx
    KierstenRx Member Posts: 249
    #8
    Welcome to the group. You are among some really great people. I'm so glad to see you have such a good prognosis. Your life has been touched by cancer and you will never totally be the "old" you. That is not bad thing. It truly makes you appreciate life and puts things in perspective. I was stage III rectal cancer (diagnosed September 06). I still to this day have trouble sleeping and occasionally have anxiety. It's getting better though. Give yourself plenty of time to heal. I have just started feeling more like my old self this past month. It's been a year since surgery. I'll keep you in my prayers.

    Kiersten

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