Bit of Self Dought

Hi Steve. We are all different but you are doing really well with the side effects. Most people are able to do a phased return to work at around six months. What do you do for a living if you don’t mind saying?

Fear of recurrence is normal and at first it is really acute. As time goes by it recedes. One year is a good milestone. Two years and the chances of being cured are excellent. My oncologist told me that the concern about recurrence will always be there but we learn to live with it. 
You’ll be very closely monitored for the first two years, anyway. 
You’ll be fine. You have good company with those philosophers of yours

The other thing is that at the moment you are being supported daily. When treatment ends it’s like falling off a cliff. You won’t see anybody for six weeks. 
This might help 

www.workingwithcancer.co.uk/.../After-the-treatment-finishes-then-what.pdf

Hi Steve. Just concentrate on getting through week 6 and recovery. Although treatment is brutal the aim is cure keep that in the forefront. There’s lots of us on here who will testify  that there’s a good life to be had afterwards. I’m 4.5 years and the time has flown. As for work it depends what you do a few manage through their  individual circumstances  dictate they’ve no choice. to works most if way through others phased returns are common place around the 6 month stage 
Hazel x

Hi. Sounds like you are coping well. I had a PEG & had to use it from week 4 of treatment for meds & feeding. I think the fear of reoccurrence will stay with me always but at 8 months post treatment I am getting on with life & trying to keep that fear contained. I went back to work, teaching, at 6 months post treatment. It depends on how you are feeling as to when yiu return. 

You’re doing amazingly so far Steve, not long now. I found week 6 really hard. It went agonisingly slowly. Fear of recurrence is very real but for now try to focus on getting through this final week. One day at a time. You can do it. 

Steve well done on getting this far and coping so well.  The fear you talk about is real and dose occasionally happen - to a few.  The majority go on to live good quality lives.  Even those of us that have had a reoccurrence have a good quality of life.  We each deal with the fear in our own ways. 

My one piece of advice is to religiously go to your follow up appointments even if you feel in the years to come that you are perfectly fit and well.  Your doctors are the experts in finding the little bugger if it does make a reappearance and with everything the earlier found the better the outcome.  Aside from that and expert "all clear" is a good reassurance.

PFJTHS said:

My one piece of advice is to religiously go to your follow up appointments even if you feel in the years to come that you are perfectly fit and well.

Until last week my thought on this would have been, “You’re kidding me?”

But I’ve been reading clinicians’ input on the PetNeck 2 PIFU trial and one serious concern has been that a significant number of patients do not attend follow up. So your advice is sage

I worked cancer pathways in the Thames Valley and the biggest threat (by a wide margin) to 5 year survival rates was people not attending follow up appointments because they though they were safe.  

Yes I was quite shocked! 
But maybe perversely some of those would be amenable to PIFU if trained properly?