Imposter syndrome?

Hi  

here to say, you’re not alone!!

mine was a similar story- although it was bilateral stage 2 bc. I thought I would bounce right back- (fairly) young, active, fit and intended to return to work after 2-3 weeks. 
in the end it was 6 weeks and I went back on phased return. I had a long wait from surgery to radio (2 months!) so I had another 4 weeks off for that as I found that really tough. 
I think you need to give yourself a break- you’ve been through huge trauma and you’ll know when you’re ready. Don’t rush it and don’t be afraid to ask for support. 
I am out the other side- feels weird but I’m getting there. 
I did the MacMillan Hope course which was useful for those post treatment worries. 

sending you all best wishes for the next steps xx

Hi parailo , your case sounds very similar to mine, except that I was 59 at diagnosis, so my hormone therapy is Anastrozole. Like you, all went as well as it could in that I had clear margins and sentinel nodes. I’d expected to go back to work after 2 weeks post op but didn’t feel remotely ready. In the end I was off for 4 months, which was 4 weeks after my radiotherapy finished. Thankfully my school was really supportive. I was a special needs teacher and my class had a lot of physical needs as well as unpredictable behaviour. 
Please don’t rush back to work before you’re ready. We are all different, as are our operations. I had had a previous lumpectomy 13 years before, where the incision was tiny, about an inch, and no node sampling. This time round it was much much longer as the surgeon accessed the lump and the nodes through the same long incision. And anyway, I really was in no fit state mentally to go back so soon, it was a real shock to feel like that! 
I would suggest that you go to your GP to get signed off for a further 4 weeks and see how you are once you’ve got your radiotherapy dates. Again, that affects us all differently- some people work during rads and feel better having that to focus on, but I could not have done my job during my 3 weeks of rads. 
It’s really a question of listening to your body and mind, not assuming that there is any way that you ‘should’ feel. We’re not used to putting ourselves first but it’s time to do that! 
Sending love and a big virtual hug, HFxx