Hi , diagnosed 11 days ago , ductal invasive , stage 1 hormone receptive cancer. been so very laid back about it , it is what it is that’s my way of coping , saw surgeon last Friday, but more than i thought, lumpectomy n partial reconstruction taking skin from underneath, recovery 6-8 weeks, no driving then onto radiotherapy,
it all seems to have hit home today , not been sleeping well and this morning stayed off work as tired n emotional n just feel so down n emotional today . I abruptly stopped hrt last week n hot flushes coming back when eventually slept last night , woke up wet through ! am known for my strength n resilience so feel weak now n don’t want to give into it , my head is whirring all round today
Hello Annie66, I have the same diagnosis as you in roughly the same timeframe, I can’t give you much advice except its ok to feel emotional, there’s an awful lot of information being thrown at us and it is a lot to take in. Sending you hugs and positivity
Thank you tinydancer14, yes I suppose so I know it’s a positive prognosis n so much luckier than others but everyone I know saying oh they’ve caught it early that’s good then , I want to scream yeah but I still have this cancer n I have to go through surgery radiotherapy n you don’t!!! Sound so dramatic and I’m not I just feel like I’m living in a dream , am a senior prison officer , stressful environment, dealing with people shouting n kicking off because someone has said no to them I want to scream you know what mate I have breast cancer try that ! I can’t always the calm professional and I love my job and am so supported there just couldn’t face it this morning, not sleeping, so tired , sorry just having a rough day x
Hi Annie66 , yes it’s a sh**show really but we feel we have to put a positive spin on it and we’re always aware that it ‘could be worse’. But we’d rather not have cancer at all!! Sorry you’re feeling so down about it atm, the whole cancer diagnosis and treatment thing has been described as a rollercoaster and it really is in so many ways. Emotionally and physically. And we’re all different in how we respond at different stages of the process. I wonder if you might be better taking some time off sick to give you space to start to process what’s happening? Some people here have gone sick from the time of diagnosis as they just couldn’t cope with the demands of work at that point. Your job sounds well beyond demanding and stressful, and I hope you’d feel able to take time off now if that’s what you need. In my case I coped by shutting it out and playing it down, and genuinely thought I’d just be off work (I was a special needs teacher) for a couple of weeks after the op. But the reality was that I stayed signed off post op until 4 weeks after my radiotherapy. 4 months in total. And I didn’t even have the extra healing from reconstruction, just a wide local excision and sentinel node sampling. You’ve got the added torment of coming abruptly off HRT. Hope you can have the time to focus on what is best for you. We’re generally too used to putting others’ needs first and can easily overlook our own. Sending love and a big virtual hug, HFxx
HappyFeet1 xx
Don’t be afraid to cry. It will free your mind of sorrowful thoughts. – Hopi
Thank you so much haplyfeet 1 I think you are right I think I have to show this strong resilient woman but actually this is maybe not that time , have had my surgery date this morning 7th Dec which is a fortnight on Thursday so am going to stay off now n prepare n focus on me , got drs in the morning, I work so hard n am always there short notice when they need me , I can be sat at my desk one minute n dealing with an incident the next and I just don’t have the headspace to deal with that pressure right now xx
