Doing a Star Wars job here & going back in time now.
This is a time I really hate myself for and look back in anger at how utterly useless I was. I'm not offering explanations & you can draw your own conclusions as to how I behaved. It's done now & lessons have been learnt.
About 6 years ago I remember clearly my sister coming home after a weekend away and saying she had found a lump. Trying to convince her it could be totally harmless etc was no use & she seemed to know it was cancer - took some convincing to get the Dr to refer her as well, but it was done eventually & it was confirmed as cancer. Give the hospital their due and this was dealt with very quickly. Me- I hadn't a clue how to deal with this and my sister kept her appointment times to herself so I never went with her. As a result of this I hadn't a clue what to do / what to expect or anything at all; didn't know who to talk to; what questions to ask & was not aware of this site at all. By the time it came to the mastectomy we were busy in a routine caring for her little. I dropped her off for her 1st chemo - even now I can't beleive I did this. She insisted she would be ok & was being picked up afer. I still can not beleive I did this - even now my blood runs cold to think of it. I didn't do it again even though they had to call me in after the drip was set up in case I fainted. This is my reasoning for emphasising this is not a journey to be done on your own when diagnosed. 2 pairs of ears are better than one. Answers to questions can be found on this site & I've found information on questions I need to ask as well, but don't look too much if you think it will frighten you. You may not have to talk, but just be there or make it known you are and will be there on request. This site has been a godsend for me for knowing what questions to ask as we haven't always been told everything. I'd had absolutely no dealings with this and pretty much been brought up to get on with it & deal with it. For those unfortunate to have been diagnosed with C then please, please talk to people (your family/ friends) as we aren't all telepathic (working on this bit). Call me stupid / ignorant/uncaring for this, but with the help of this site & the people on here I will do better this time around. It's not an easy time, but you do cope (with the odd 'oh my god what do I do now' attack). I think it makes you stronger and put's life into perspective.
Feel free to comment. As I said this is my experience (warts & all) to show we all make mistakes at times.
