Fear of reoccurrence

I would talk these symptoms over with your cancer nurse. You should have a number to call them and ask for advice. It is very natural to fear the cancer coming back. The good news is they have removed it. Anxiety can cause many issues to. It not easy to get your head around everything thats happend. I have just been in autopilot for the last 6 months and it dont feel real i have cancer or that I survived major surgery and walking around with one kidney and nice scar too. Major surgery can take months to heal. Just becuse the outside looks healed, internally can take much longer and if we rush back to doing things quickly can cause other issues like swelling, pain and discomfort. All these things you can discuss with your specialist nurse who are there to support even after surgery. Now I would say relax, enjoy your Sunday, take it easy, dont rush the healing process and speak with your nurse. Hope this helps and I am sure others will soon offer their support on here too. 

Hi Harrietgrace 

While it’s obviously very good news that your cancer was successfully removed, it’s a lot to deal with mentally and physically, especially at such a young age.

Fear of recurrence is very real for a lot of us who have been through a cancer diagnosis and surgery/treatment, and anxiety can play a big part in how we feel afterwards.

However, the golden rule if you like, is that you need to report any unusual or ongoing symptoms to your team. It’s not long since you had surgery, and there will be a lot of healing going on inside, but it’s best to get checked out. You should be on some type of schedule of follow up appointments to check your recovery, but you can also contact your CNS (cancer nurse specialist) if you have been allocated one, to have a chat. They can assess whether or not you need to be seen now. You are clearly concerned about what’s going on, so they might hopefully be able to give you some reassurance.

In terms of our feelings after cancer, I often recommend having a read of this paper which even now, I still refer back to. It will let you see how normal your feelings are after what you’ve gone through

After the treatment ends, then what?

Please call your CNS-why don’t you give them a ring tomorrow rather than worrying? 

Sarah xx

Hello, 

I am 25 and I am a survivor of childhood cancer. You are are not alone in the fear and downright terror that the thought of having it come back or get worse. I have not stopped having this and its something I really struggle with. I think sometimes I worry because my cancer was found late, I was a child and people didn't believe me, I spent around 2 years going to A&E, passing out etc and it wasnt until i was covered in purple spots that someone took it seriously.

As the previous advice reccomends, I would just be honest with your doctor. I have lots or random aches, pains or issues - sometimes even a migraine can make me feel like the worst is happening. But at the end of the day, you just have to try and ignore that urge to google every lignering symptom and go straight to a professional, it sometimes might feel like you're being a burden, but it is better that you feel reassured than you sit worrying yourself into more harm. One good thing to maybe research is the correct medical language to use to make sure you are taken seriously if you do have a concern.

If you need anything else let me know!