Journal

 Kookie_b welcome and so sorry you find yourself on here. I started keeping a journal when my journey started but to be honest it soon became something I didn't get round to doing on a daily basis. 

This time of waiting is really tough, all you want is for them to sort you out and get rid of the cancer, but they are working hard planning your individual care plan, be assured of that. Unfortunately it all takes time,  and they do have your best interests at heart. Once you get the results, treatment plan, etc you will find you are on a bit of a treadmill and time will fly.

We have all been there, we've all felt exactly how you are feeling. Take one day at a time. 

Big hugs

Sally 

Hi there and so sorry that you find yourself in a club you didn’t want to join! I did indeed keep a journal to start with, documenting blood pressure, bowel movement, feelings, how my body was etc. etc. on a daily basis and after filling a book I thought “why do I want to remember all this?!” So I stopped. It helps some people to see how they’re faring from start to finish of treatments but now I just have a kitchen diary for appointments. I really wish you well and that you can ‘go with the flow’ and know that all that is being done to kill off the little b….! XxX

Hi Kookie_b,

I have a notebook and write in it when I feel like it. I have drawn up a grid for each chemo cycle to track my side effects, but the main aim of that is so that I can predict when I'm going to feel unwell and see that in each cycle there are plenty of better days. When I feel poorly, that helps.

I am keeping a sort of diary, but it's not so I will look back on it, it's more to help me process my feelings and thoughts. It definitely helps me, but everyone is different. There's no harm in trying it. I absolutely don't write in it every day, just when I think it might be cathartic! 

I chose a really nice hardbacked notebook and I use different colours for different things when I write. I suppose it's my slightly creative side. Some people draw, I'm rubbish at that, so I don't. 

I hope you find something that helps you to process what you're going through and feel more in control. 

Much love.

1. XXX 

I kept a diary throughout chemo and it was extremely helpful to see patterns of cycles to know when I would start feeling better or what to expect next.