Anti climax post treatment

Hi ChelleEvs77, I'm glad your mum is doing well. I know exactly how you're feeling. My daughter finished 20 months of treatment 8 weeks ago, 22 chemo cycles, 3 surgeries and 15 sessions of radiotherapy. It was brutal but life-saving. Her end of treatment scans have showed 'no cause for concern.

I feel I should be on top of the world.  On one level, I am. But on another level, at the back of your mind, is the 'What about the next scan?' Daughter is back to exercise classes and I can feel the panic rising every time she says muscles ache from weights or running, etc. There's that feeling that nothing will ever be the same again. 

Very best wishes to you and your mum. We will find our way through this. x

Hi both,

Good to hear about their treatment but you are so right that things do linger. With my wife her cancer is stable and has now been that way for about 10 years and her oncologist is so pleased and we now only have a scan once a year.

There is some guidance in the pages in after treatment 

I think perhaps the turning point for me was when I did a living with less stress course and came to realise that spending time worrying about a future I could not control was blocking me appreciating what we have. 

<<hugs>>

Steve

I’m at the beginning of a similar journey with my mum in that she’s been recently diagnosed with stage 4B serous endometrial and I wanted to say I feel all the same feelings expressed in your poem. I’m absolutely heartbroken. 

I’ve recently been diagnosed with Stage 4 serious endometrial carcinoma that has spread within my abdomen and is not operable. I’m about to start six chemotherapy sessions - one every three weeks. The hardest part for me is seeing my son (a gynaecologist) so worried about me. He obviously understands far more than I do and  it makes me so sad to see the effect it has on him. I’m a very positive person and am trying to avoid negativity. I feel 100% well and have no symptoms my diagnosis has, taken a year because the cancer is a rare type. I had a tiny amount of spotting a year ago and have been having tests since then! It’s tough to contemplate the seriousness of my diagnosis when I feel and look so well.

Hello Hendj, 

I’m really sorry to hear that you’ve been diagnosed with serous endometrial cancer. It’s a massive shock, especially when the symptoms are non-existent or quite subtle. It’s been 2 months since we found out about the diagnosis and a month since we learnt that my mum’s cancer had already spread even though she felt quite well. She had only had a small amount spotting so we hoped they’d caught it early but imaging showed her cancer had spread to her abdomen. It does feel like this is quite common with this type of cancer, although it doesn’t make it any less devastating. 

I can understand what you mean when you say it’s tough to contemplate the seriousness of it all when you feel well. I found that very hard to grapple with for my mum cause by all appearances she seemed perfectly healthy, and that made treatment feel more daunting. I’m still in shock but starting treatment has given us something to focus on, taking it one step at a time. The positive is that this cancer is treatable, and responds well to chemotherapy.

I think my mum feels the same way about me that you feel about your son. I know more about the cancer than my mum does as she also prefers to focus on the positive and is relying a lot on her faith to pull her through. I think that’s the best way to be. I routinely tell my mum to try not to worry about me and focus on herself, and getting well. It’s already had a difficult battle without needing to absorb the emotions of others but that’s always easier done than said. It’s natural for us children to worry senselessly, and also natural for our mums to worry about our worrying.

My mum has had debulking surgery and we have an appointment next week to start discussing chemotherapy. Her treatment is going well so far, and I hope your treatment also goes well. I’m not sure what your doctors have said but I’ve heard of others here whose treatment has started with chemotherapy and then moved on to debulking surgery followed by further chemotherapy so it’s possible that could be an option for you. 

Wishing the best for you and your family xx 

Thank you Rlove95

I am attending hospital tomorrow to discuss chemotherapy treatment as surgery is not possible in my case because of the spread, it would not be possible to remove all of the cancer. I’m praying that chemotherapy is successful in shrinking, maybe even eradicating, it. Do keep in touch with updates on your Mum. Sending love xx

I hope your appointment went well and you’re able to start chemotherapy soon, and the treatment is successful in shrinking and eradicating the cancer. 

Sending a lot of love to you too xx