Struggling

Hello Readytolearn I'm sorry no one has replied to this post yet. You will see from my profile that I don't have the same experience as you but I do have some experience of trying to come to terms with the emotional side of all this; I can recommend the emotional support group here on MacMillan and also the helpline. There are of course many people on the MacMillan forum with experience of cancer but not necessarily cervical cancer. Headspace has a useful app with a section Living with cancer produced by a cancer survivor. Personally a 10 minute walk in the fresh air helps, keeping up a routine, anything normal. I can also recommend Jo's cervical cancer trust and The Eve Appeal which are charities specialising in cervical cancer/cell abnormalities and women's health. Counselling may be useful; whatever you do don't bottle up your feelings; reach out and let your feelings out; online, in a journal or on here. I hope this helps A x

Hi Readytolearn

I had a radical hysterectomy followed by chemo-radiotherapy.  As if recovering from the hysterectomy isn't enough, suddenly you're hit with the news of needing more treatment -  unlucky and a tough one.  Cervical cancer treatments are challenging on a physical, mental and emotional level so it's very understandable that you are feeling stressed and tired; I know I did when I was at the stage you are now -  very early days. 

Physically you are still healing from your surgery and there is a lot to process psychologically (including knowing you have more treatment ahead) -  more than you probably realise at the moment which is where a lot of your energy will be going.  There can be a tendency for us to put pressure on ourselves after treatment(s), that we should be able to carry on much as we were before. I know when I finished my chemo-radio I thought I'd be back to normal in no time and it was quite a shock to find  that I couldn't even keep up with 'older ladies' exercise group when previously I'd was doing some fairly tough weight training in the gym, 3 times a week.

In terms of staying positive (not that I'm the world's best) I try and take things a step at a time; I think it's important to set achievable targets - so if I found myself thinking I should be doing 40 minutes hard training (in the way I once did)  then sitting around feeling defeated because I didn't feel I could be bothered,  I'd think of something very achievable like 1 minute of squats (whatever floats one's boat) after which I felt quite good because it was much better than doing nothing.  In that way I eventually managed to build up making some reasonable progress in various ways. 

All said it's important to rest when your body is telling you to especially when you are in the thick of treatment - and in the initial stages of recovery afterwards.  Be kind to yourself.