about finished with all treatment

We know how you feel
Welcome -- know that you're among friends here who know how you feel.

There are quite a few of us here who have just finished or are about to finish treatment, and many of us feel lost, scared, thrown out into the deep end, you name it.

I'm 40 -- I was diagnosed in May, had bilateral lumpectomies in June, did chemo from August-October, and rads from November-December. Just finished 3 weeks ago, and am now on Tamoxifen. I cry a lot, and it only takes someone looking at me sideways for me to want to scratch their eyes out, because I feel like no one has any idea what I've been through and how hard it is to recover.

Yes, you can get on with your life, but that's almost certainly only going to happen in frustratingly slow, tiny baby steps. Don't let ANYONE push you into taking bigger steps than you feel ready for, or tell you you should be "back to normal" -- trust me, there are women on this site ready to commit violent acts on your behalf upon anyone who tells you that! :-)

I highly, HIGHLY recommend the book After Breast Cancer: A Common-Sense Guide to Life after Treatment, by Hester Hill Schnipper. The author is an oncology social worker and a breast cancer survivor -- I carried that book around with me for several weeks near the end of and after my treatment, and found it both comforting and full of practical suggestions. You can get it an Amazon.

Please come here often.

Traci

bgant said:

all done
omg i feel the same way, im done with chemo and now im like ok what now. on feb 17th i have surgry for reconstruction but im more worried about when my nails will stop hurting or my hair growing back, lol

We all go thru this. I
We all go thru this. I still am. Once our treatment phase is over, we feel lost and don't know what to do. But, you will get past this and you will get on with your life. We will be here to help you when you need a little boost.

Sue

You are not alone!! I
You are not alone!! I finished chemo Nov. 08', radiation Feb. 09', and Herceptin July 09'and I still feel that way. I know we are suppose to move on but no matter what others say whether family or friends they just don't understand if you haven't worked in our shoes. I will say that with each day you will find that you will not have it on your mind 24/7. I think that you will see that as long as you follow what the dr.'s tell you and you are confident enough to bring anything you feel needs their attention to them you will do just fine. I found that when I go for my 3 month check ups I am always asking questions like "when do I get my next MRI"? etc. This lets them know that I am my own advocate.
I'm having reconstruction in about 2 weeks and this has me really scared. I think when you have to do something like chemo you just do it, but with the reconstruction since it was my choice and not a life or death situation I just don't want to be tempting fate. So you see no matter what there is always something that can frighten us but as my husband says "we never know day to day what happens, any of us". Live life to the fullest. Enjoy just being you and your life will bring you much happiness. Hang in there and vent on this site whenever the need. Someone is always here to help believe me I just started writing 2 weeks ago after reading the discussion board for 18 months! You will do just fine

MyTurnNow said:

Welcome, bleedpint, to this
Welcome, bleedpint, to this amazing group. Like Traci said, there are quite a few of us that have recently finished our treatments and are somewhat "lost". Several months ago I joined an organization called Army of Women. It is a partnership between the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation and the Avon Foundation for Women. Their goal is to search for the cause for breast cancer. They have studies that are participated in by members of the Army of Women. I have recently signed up for their Pathways to Recovery After Breast Cancer Study. I am awaiting information being mailed to me. One of their slogans is "It's time for an Army of Women to end breast cancer". I wholeheartedly agree!! Perhaps there are more of you out there that would be interested in joining this group. I believe if we equip outselves with as much information as possible, it may assist in our recovery.

hester Hill Schnipper is my
hester Hill Schnipper is my social worker where I am treated I will pass on what you have said . She is very helpful and as you say knowa it first hand. I just finished chemo and need some surgery then radiation. I look forward to not being sick but am not looking forward to that free fall. I had cancer before and can attest it gets better as time takes over but your feelings are appropriate and normal. I just try to live in the moment when I get that way and focus on something positive like a pretty picture or a bird or ANYTHIMG LOL Dont feel quilty about the elective surgery consider it part of the healing process M turn now I would love to get involved in something like that when I feel better. awesome