Hi everyone. I’m such a positive person but since finding lump (4 weeks ago) diagnosed with poss stage 1 grade 3 and waiting for mastectomy in a week - I’m just unable to think positive in any way. Is this normal? My brain is constantly thinking the worst and it’s a battle. Very tearful and very very unfocused. I’m scared they’ll find affected nodes, scared they’ll say I need chemo and scared for my outlook. I’ve never felt like this before and at 50 it’s all overwhelming.
Hi, I had similar feeling when they asked me to take a CT to check for spread. I talked to a good friend who is a radiologist and that really helped. He out modern breast cancer treatment into perspective for me and made me realise that for the vast majority, this is a really treatable illness. For me talking it through with an “expert” was a big plus so I would also suggest calling Macmillan and having a chat, to see if that can help you get things into perspective.
The other thing that helped me was focusing on what I could control and actively controlling that - what I eat, drink, exercise etc. This also helped me to prioritise the things I can control or influence versus things that I cannot control but are of concern. It's actually a management training technique so you can google it (circle of influence) as that was something that worked for me and might be a bit of help.
Best wishes x
