Hi, I am a 50 yr young female that on July 23, 2008 was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer. I underwent 6 wks of chemo and 8 wks of radiation, but I won't know anything until Feb. 09 when I get a PET scan. I am lost and confused and don't know what to do now. I still don't have all my energy back. If anyone can help me with what steps I am to take now, please do. Without going to the hospital everyday I feel lost and left to figure things out on my own. Do I just jump back into life as usual before the cancer?
FormerMember
Hiya Charly50, firstly i would like to extend a warm welcome to what now. I know that you will find many new and wonderful friends here, i most certainly have.
You have been through a lot in the last five months and both the chemo and the radio will really sap your strength so you need to make sure that you eat sensibly, get plenty of rest but also i found that going out for walks and getting some exercise.....build it up gradually though, helped me get my strength back. It also is good for clearing the mental cobwebs out! As for feeling lost because you are no longer at the hospital everyday, i can relate to that. I also felt abandoned and lost..so glad i found this site. Have you not got a specialist nurse on your team? if not get hold of your oncology team and ask for one, they can give you loads of help and advise on both the emotional and advise you as to what the next steps are in your care and when.
As for jumping back into life as usual before the cancer...... i found that i don't know what that is anymore, many people here have said to me that it is alright to feel like this as cancer changes your life forever. It was suggested to me that i take some tim to discover what i want most in my life now (some peoples' priorities change, mine have) find and get to know the new you...we have been given another chance at life! I am trying to do that and No it's not easy but i'm sure it will get easier with time.
Meanwhile keep posting and come join us in the chat room, we would love to hear from you as to how you are getting on etc...anything at all, good or not so positive we are all in this together.
I agree so much with Lorna's reply that I can hardly find anything new to say. When I was diagnosed with lung cancer in Apr 2006 and after similar treatment to yours, my feelings were exactly the same as the ones you are having, mabye that is why this site is called What Now!!! I was given a prognosis of 'months'
After all the attention it was a bit of an anit-climax to wait and see what the results of these treatments were and I didn't have the energy to do all the things I wanted to. What I did decide was, that if these were the last years of my life I was going to live them, not wait from day to day and expect my symptons to get worse and wonder when the end would happen.......and how!!!
I just try to make the best of every day and the past two years have been wonderful, my health is no worse than it was and I am still independant and living alone.
Please come and meet us in the chatroom, it will help you to feel less isolated and among friends who care.
Hi Charley, I am quite new to this site so not sure what I am doing yet ! I wish that I had known about this site 2 years ago as having cancer is so isolating, all the people that you know and were frivilous with either avoid you or dont know what to say. On top of this you have this enormous fear that wont go away and the treatment makes you feel as if you are the only person suffering this in the whole world. Everyone on this site will know how you are feeling and that is a great comfort. You can say things that you cant say to your family and friends in case they think that you are not being positive enough!!!
I am 53 years young and I had my left lung removed in December 06 followed by Chemotherapy which made me so ill I thought that I would never come out the other side.I then nursed my father with cancer and he died in August 07. I was left feeling fearful, depressed,old and as if my life was effectively over.
I am now fit and healthy and also struggling to find my new place in the world. I used to be a career woman, working ridiculous hours and now I have finished paid work, had lots of lovely holidays and am starting to look ar what I can do in the voluntary sector. Cancer will, I think, give you a new perspective on life and I feel lucky and happy every morning when I wake up. Someone told me that you never really appreciate life until you have suffered adversity and I believe this to be true.
You need to build your strength up, go out into the countryside and appreciate the beauty around you and do all the things that you have been wanting to do but never had the time. While I was recovering, I sorted all my photographs from 30 years of marriage into order and put them all in albums!!! and I actually enjoyed doing it !!
Hi Charly - it certainly is a bit hard, trying to adjust to once again living a "normal" life. I was told in September that the chemotherapy had reduced my tumour so much that they coud no longer see the original tumour. I was told at that time that my body was in fact "cancer free", and I was to go off and live my life?!!! We seem to develop some kind of attachment to the hospital, doctors and nurses who treated us - you know when you would go back each month for chemotherapy? It is the WEIRDEST feeling to know that you no longer have to do that, so in fact the safety net has been removed. I think it leaves us all feeling lost and a tad vulnerable. Unfortunately, the type of cancer I suffer from (small cell lung cancer) DOES return, and you do have to go back and forth to hospitals once more, but that small slot of time that you DON'T need to go and see any of them for anything, is a learning curve. Me? I'm getting used to being cancer free, before it makes its dreaded comeback. I think we all need time to adjust to all these changes in our lives, and living with cancer, as we all know is NOT an easy thing to do. DO make use of the services the cancer care nurses at the hospital offer you as they are often a really big help in helping people adjust. I hope that your appointment in Feb '09 turns out well and that you are given good news, with love kate
Thank you all for your replys. It does help. However Kate, you mentioned that small cell lung cancer does come back. I didn't know that. Could you tell me more info about that. Does it come back in the same place? My was a less than 2 cm tumor in my right lung which went into my lympnods in my chest, which they removed.
Another question I hope you can answer, I have not been able to work a 40 hr week since this started, is there any organization out there that can help financially. I just don't know how to keep up with all my bills and house pmt. I feel so depressed these days. I can just break down and cry at any given moment. I just want to feel normal again.....whatever that is.
