New diagnoses

Hi Jlt123, 

sorry you have found yourself here, however you have come to right place.

I know how you feel I was diagnosed last November 21 with  advanced Stage 4 N1 anal cancer, it was like being hit by a bus, in saying this iv always had Issues with going to the toilet and lose of blood etc and had 3 colonoscopies over the last 15 years the last one I had they said it was haemorrhoids a few years down the line I was diagnosed, which I wasn’t surprised about even though like I say it still hit me.

I ended up with a stoma which can be reversed, however I did refuse to start with but it was the best thing I had done while going through the treatment. 

I am 7 months post treatment and glad to say my last MRI said I was all clear and in remission.

it’s a lot to take in a lot of waiting for different scans, biopsy etc and I can imagine how your feeling about the money situation, I  will say I was very lucky that the treatment didn’t effect me like others and went back to work 6 weeks after my treatment ended, just take each day as it comes the team are brilliant at what they do if you need any  more info please just ask.

take care

Laura

Hello there. You've landed on a wonderful site here, that helped me immeasurably. We've all been where you're at and it's the worst part, I think. This is a highly treatable cancer and, once you have a treatment plan from your team, you'll start to feel more confident. Following 5 1/2 weeks of chemoradiotherapy I was given the all clear quite recently. Best if luck.

Hi Jlt123 and a warm welcome to the group although I'm sorry you have had the need to find us.  There's a lot of support here with people at all different stages of diagnosis and beyond. If you click on people's user's names you will be able to read their stories. There's a wealth of tips and advice that we can share with you so please ask any questions that you need to- nothing is too personal to ask. 

Receiving a cancer diagnosis is a life changing moment, it's so hard to process. I'm not sure if you have received a treatment plan yet but from my experience, once I did and there was a start date for treatment, this helped me feel more in control. I also had a telephone appointment with my GP who was very supportive.  

On a practical note, you have mentioned you are worried about money. Macmillan offer advice on lots of things including entitlement to welfare benefits, financial advice and emotional and practical support.  If you don't want to telephone them you can chat online or email them, if you click the following link this will take you to the links to email them or chat online -  https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/get-help/emotional-help/macmillan-support-line#specialist_support  If you would prefer to phone, it's free to call on 0808 808 00 00 

Please let us know if you have any questions or just need a listening ear, Bev 

Jlt123  Ps I just wanted to add that a cancer diagnosis is considered to be a 'disability' for the purposes of discrimination at work, to provide protection to you. 

Hello Jlt123

I am so sorry to hear about your diagnosis and that you have had to come here, but this is a site where everyone can empathise with your feelings and what you are going through.  My heart goes out to you; no one can forget the exact moment they were told and just how traumatic it was.  But please take heart, once the dust settles you will become used to the news and once treatment starts you will feel a lot more in control of what is happening.

if you are going through the chemo/radiotherapy route, it can be harsh but it is short and very effective.  There are lots of tips we can give you, so don't worry what you talk about on here; literally anything goes. There are also quite a few members on the forum that are clear of cancer now but who have stayed around to give help and advice (and hope) to newcomers.

We are all thinking about you as you start this journey.

Irene xx

Hi Jlt123,

You've received some lovely responses to your post already so I’ll not go over it all but  I would like to repeat the warm welcome to our little corner of the Macmillan online community although obviously I’m so sorry to hear of your recent diagnosis. 

The feelings you’re having, or lack there of, is perfectly normal, we all process something as huge as a cancer diagnosis differently & there is no one size fits all way of dealing with it. Hopefully being here amongst people that have been where you are now will help, this forum certainly was my lifeline when I was diagnosed back in 2018, if you click on my username you can read a little about my journey there.

As has already been mentioned Macmillan will offer financial & welfare advice & I see Bev has already posted links but also if you have a Maggies Centre close to you (you can Google Maggies Centres & it’ll give you your closest centre) & would rather sit with someone face to face they too offer benefits advice. I was off work 7-8 months in total as I had my diagnosis in February then surgery in March, 7-8 weeks recovery followed by 4.5 weeks of treatment, with the help of a local cancer charity I successfully claimed PIP to see me through the period I couldn’t work & a little further beyond. 

Please don’t hesitate to ask any questions you have we’re  here to support you however we can. 

Nicola 

Hi Jlt, I'm so sorry you've had to join our merry band, but you will find folks who understand you and your journey and I've been so surprised and grateful to find that here. You don't have to get your head around it all. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. One of the few pluses to this awful cancer is that, for most of us anyway, the treatment is fast and hard. Just get through the treatment and recovery, and begin life as a survivor.

And most of us DO survive this. Bet you will too.

Hugs

Suz