Post treatment anxiety

Hi Feather yes you certainly do! I’m three years post treatment and had a small bleed and thought what is this, only to remember I had a larger stool than usual a day ago and I had a very small tear but I still mentioned it to my team via MyChart and they rang me back later that morning to ask a few questions and we decided that if it continued I would go in but luckily it didn’t. Occasionally I get the dreaded itch but think sometimes it’s due to being over vigorous with loo roll. Our skin is damaged for ever from the radiotherapy so can be fragile. That said, always let your team know just so they are aware of what’s happening. Sadly I don’t think you ever completely feel confident it will not return but I think anyone who has been through cancer feels the same. My last visit to my oncologist she said in October I will no longer be having check ups which panicked me to say the least as I assumed I would be going for up to five years. She said everything looked fine and I have as much chance of getting cancer now as anyone else. When you are post treatment passed two years they say the risk of it returning and spreading drops rapidly very low. From time to time when you get sore that negative monster rises its head. Take care

Julie

Hello Feather 653

Oh yes - I have peculiar aches pains and twinges all the time and strangely enough they increase when it is coming up to scan time!  Last visit I even had them leaving the hospital after a follow-on appointment where everything was clear.  Seriously, I think most of us have some degree of damage and this is what we feel in all these odd twinges.  And a large bowel movement when I had them could lead to all sorts of skin and back passage upset.

If you have been working hard I hope you are having a lovely restful weekend!

Irene xx