Any ladies started the breast cancer path that live alone?

Hi

Yes I have two grown up daughters and a man friend who lives a mile away, but yes alone apart from two guinea pigs. The AWAKE thread on here is excellent when you are feeling a bit anxious, nice ladies on there who are available night or day to give support.

EVERYONE is welcome on the AWAKE thread, if you want to pop in and out or become an old lag and stay there forever, There is also a virtual guinea pig who comes to appointments with you he is called Lucky Pants. xxxx

I think there are quite a lot of posters on the site who live alone , I do , and my grown up children are not in this country. I find weekend worse , I have to give myself a stern talking to and read a book or watch a box set . It is so easy to let thoughts run away , does your hospital offer any psychological care  ? I really feel this is needed and can be patchy . Best wishes and hope some more people come along to say something more sensible ....I have “ chemo brain “ ...!!    X

Hi , firstly.....

Obviously I wish you weren’t here, meant in the nicest possible way! 

I am now back home living with my parents, long story! 

However when first diagnosed I was living and working as a Nanny for a family in London, hence the name! So although I lived in the house with a family, I was on my own! Family down in Devon and friends in London but busy with their own lives! 

Yes it was tough sometimes and I had some VERY tearful moments, but the online friends I made, helped me through! Who else would be available for a chat at stupid o clock! Let’s face it these helplines are amazing, BUT, it’s during the weekend and at night when no one else is around, when we need these things! But nothing is around! 

As someone has already mentioned the AWAKE thread is there and open to anyone who wishes to join in! We chat, day and night, we cry, we moan, we shout and scream but most of all we laugh! Sadly tonight we are saying goodbye to a Dear Friend, so not much laughing tonight. However even reading tonight’s posts you will see how close we all are and what great support we are to each other! 

Hopefully if you decide you would like to join us, you will find its the perfect place to be during your lonely and difficult times! You don’t have to say much, you may just want to say hi or post a pic! Anything is fine! Someone will be there to welcome you! Unless by some miracle, EVERYONE has managed to sleep! I don’t think that’s happened yet! 

Hope you find the support you need. Sal xx 

Hi thankyou for acknowledging me

Thankyou for acknowledging me

Hi 

thankyou for your reply

do you find you are ok at home on your own immediately post chemo or is it better to try to find someone to stay.?

i just don’t want to put on family who all have jobs and or little children but my mind runs away with me at nighttime -chemo hasn’t started yet so looking to see how other ladies alone actually manage like trying to get out every day for a walk with a dog for example and also if I’m alone in being on anti anxiety meds since the diagnosis 

Hi

I think lots of people find anti anxiety medication helpful at this very stressful time. 

I didn't have chemo myself but I think people have all different experiences. toxophilite carried on working installing burglary alarms up ladders. But she is tough. Maybe just see how you go, have a couple of friends / relatives ring or text at regular intervals so check on you. Xxx

Hey

Not sure I'm as tough as Snowys Mum makes out!!

But yes, I did work full time throughout treatment. The big thing for me was to keep life as normal as possible. My employer was very good, allowing admin work on the not so good days. That was useful to them, as we were going for ISO9001 re-certification and I did most of the work for that. Which meant I could work from home some days.

Anxiety is a tough one to cope with. My hubby has PTSD, and my dx caused a relapse. So I was having to cope with that, and try to keep him going. Please don't be afraid to ask for meds to help with that. Just don't be tempted to stop them too soon, or cold turkey. I am still on anti-depressants, more than 2 years after finishing treatment. 

Do you have any hobbies or sports involvement? That can be very helpful, from a social perspective.

See how you go. Give it a whirl to keep on with stuff, but be prepared to scale back if you need to. Do ask for support if you need it. And there are meds that work for most side effects. 

The thing with chemo is, it hits your weak points. I've never been one to suffer nausea, so I didn't get that. But every sports injury I ever had let me know all about it. Migraine sufferers get hangover headaches. Etc. So you can work out how it's likely to affect you and plan for that.

Do visit AWAKE - the fruit loops are very welcoming any time of day or night!!

Hugs xx