my colleague is dead from cancer instead of me

Less than one minute read time.

When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, my work knew. Two weeks later, one of the colleague was diagnosed with esophagus??? in his food tube which was 7 cm. He was so upset and wonder why???? He told me that he was not drink any alcohol, did not eat meat, did not smoke...he was so down. I remembered his sad face.

We were talking about medications, treatment and all sort e.g. his background even we did not know each other before. Cut the story short,, he died last Sunday and his funeral was on Thursday. His old parents who are in their 80s were there, they had lost one son a few years ago and now they have to lose the eldest son. His girlfriend flew from Malaysia to be see him died.

I feel guilty that I am still here. What if..it were me instead of him. I am down because life is so unexpected. I am now live with fear that one day this cancer will be back. Someone I know yesterday told me that her mother had cancer four times!!!! How can I live through that\/???

Anonymous
  • FormerMember
    FormerMember

    Don't feel sorry, God has plan for each us, maybe its his time and you still have purpose in life. The purpose to fight your Breast Cancer. I know what you feel and your loved ones feel. I have a sister who is still fighting against breast cancer and having her breast cancer treatment abroad, it is really difficult for us her family and friends to see her suffer. I don't want to see other people suffer from cancer. So as you still have time, then better fight back, don't loose hope and don't feel guilty about your friend.

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember

    Hi Poh,

    I'm really sorry to hear about your colleague.

    Many people do find that they feel low after treatment has finished, and that they worry about the cancer coming back. With losing your colleague as well, it's not surprising that you are finding things difficult.

    As well as blogging, you might want to consider posting this in some groups that are relevant to you, as you may well find that other members are experiencing something similar. For example, you are already a member of our breast cancer group, and you might also be interested in our life after cancer group. If you need any helping finding out how to join and post in groups, you can email us on community@macmillan.org.uk

    We also have some information on our website about your feelings after cancer treatment, which you might find helpful.

    If you need to talk about your treatment, or the loss of your colleague, the Macmillan team is here for you on freephone 0808 808 0000 (Mon-Fri, 9am-8pm).

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember
    Oh Poh, please don't feel guilty about your colleague. This horrible disease takes people away, and some of us fight on. It is very sad but you must not feel any guilt about surviving. Like you I live every day with the fear that it may come back. I have not actually had the confirmation it has gone yet, but I am hopeful and the signs are looking good. We must try to have a positive outlook if only for our own self preservation. Chin up hun, you still have life to live xxx
  • FormerMember
    FormerMember
    Hi Poh. So sorry to read about your friend. Some great advice already. Something else to bear in mind is that not all cancers are the same. There are lots of types of breast cancer itself. Some are more treatable than others. Some women end up with secondaries whilst others are completely treated. So your colleague had cancer but it was of the oesophagus and the prognosis is very different from breast cancer. Treating the throat is very tricky. He will have known this. Feeling guilty that you are still here and he isn't is completely natural, it's survivor guilt and something that I think we all go through. It's very sad to lose a friend anyway and I think it impacts on us more when we have had cancer. I am part of a Facebook group for younger women with breast cancer and someone I made friends with there died last year. I kept telling myself to be glad I was alive but actually what I needed to do was to be sad for losing a friend. I lost another friend this year and actually the pain wasn't so deep and it made me realise that last year I was mourning for myself as well as the friend, this year I am two years away from treatment and emotionally in a better place. It takes time. Xxxx
  • FormerMember
    FormerMember

    Thank you all for your supports and good advises. I feel a bit better but still think about Steve who passed away. The reason that I think I should died instead of him because I have so many health issues.

    I have HSP vasculitis, kidney disease, breast cancer, alcohol problem and Bipolar. So I feel that life is too short and my Bipolar hits me. I am so high and spend lots of money on non necessary things. Then I feel so down and annoyed with everybody. Life is so tuff...:((