Hello all,
I'm 77 years young and got the all clear two weeks ago from two liposarcomas in my back that regrew with cancer in them. Just a 6 month check then hopefully rid of this worry.
Had surgery since 3 years ago to remove them and left with no pain or discomfort.
BUT I feel quite depressed despite learning the good news that I've been praying for.
Told by a Macmillan counsellor that this is quite normal and very common.
Do any of you share this experience and how have you overcome the anxiety and depression?
I have been on antidepressants for many years and thought I was doing so well untilI got the good news!
Bless you all.
Hi again Shrimper 14 and well done navigating over to this little corner of the community and sorry to read about the challenges you are dealing with….. unfortunately this often has to be worked through.
My journey is very very different from yours as I was first diagnosed way back in 1999 with a rare (7 in a million) incurable hard to treat type of Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (blood cancer)………. I had 16 years of treatment only ever finding partial remission that lasted about 9 months at the most before going back on the treatment roundabout but after a few traumatic years in eventually was told NED (No Evident Disease) in Sep 2016 and remain so…… (you can see all my story using the link at the bottom)…… so I am living the dream.
My focus over all my years and continues to be is to live life to full and not let the ‘thought’ of my cancer waking up again and defining me….. but I ‘choose’ to define my life and how I live.
I am not saying that it was all plain sailing, during these times ‘talking’ helped a lot so I used the amazing services at our local Maggie's Centre as these folks are amazing and aim to give support to all the family including my long suffering wife.
I totally believe in taking control of the battle between the ears.
and one of the many lessons I learned over my 23 years is encapsulated in this thought….
The road we navigate on our journey has two directions to follow. There are two signs along this road one sign is pointing to Pessimism, a mindset that always sees the worst will happen, not appreciating that the many treatments available can do the job, where stress and worry controls every aspect of life and as a result the journey is made extremely hard and draining.
The other sign points to Optimism, a mindset that is full of hopefulness, determination, confidence about the future and appreciates that the treatments available can turn the Lymphoma tide….. even in the most challenging storms. It’s important to continually seek to choose the optimistic direction as this simple thing can define how you walk out cancer journey.
Always around to chat.
This is the great paperAfter Treatment Finishes - Then What? by Dr Peter Harvey that my friend Gemmary was highlighting.
Hi, I'm four years in remission and only now feel almost back to my precancer self. When I finished treatment, at Christies Hospital in Manchester, I was hit with a massive feeling of isolation as , up until that point, my life was structured around treatment and appointments.Suddenly I felt lost. No treatment appointments; no work- no structure to the day, no routine, no not seeing work colleagues. And to top it off i was told not to drive for a year and a half- so no mobility!!!
But the worse thing was how tired and weak I felt. Both mentally and physically. I didn't know what was happening to me , or where to go for advice. In the end I found McMillans. They put me intouch with a councillor who explained CANCER LETHARGY to me. Once I knew what it was, I could cope better.
I now feel ready to get a job and rejoin society.
I wish the medical team had given me a talk about post cancer life. I just wonder how many medical teams do that?
This was my cancer emoji 
. It stands for BE GOOD AND BE STRONG. I'm passing it onto you
