hi after finishing my treatment the end of December for vaginal/vulva cancer i have been to the hospital today for results of MRI and Pet scan which were both good news.
i have to have another MRI in 3 months and then will be kept an eye on for the next 5 years.
i should be ecstatic but not feeling it for some reason. is it normal to feel like this ? is it ever going to be away from my mind ?
sorry for the rant and negativity but my family are all over the moon with my results and i want that feeling but just don't have it at the moment.
Hi debz64
I think what you’re feeling is very normal and often takes us by surprise when treatment is over. We are used to so many hospital appointments for treatment, then we wait for the post treatment scans, and suddenly it can seem all a bit flat when we get the results.
I felt exactly the same when I was told I had no evidence of disease after my 3 monthly mri scan result-I expected to feel thrilled but it didn’t feel like that.
Will it ever be away from your mind? I can’t answer that for you, but I can say it can get better in time. I’m more than 5 years out from my original diagnosis and first line of treatment, and I don’t spend my time worrying nowadays. I had a recurrence within 9 months, which did floor me at the time, but 4 years on from that I’m doing well.
Your CNS might be able to direct you to any life after cancer courses run by your hospital which might help, and there is a paper written by a doctor called Peter Harvey called “After the treatment, Then What?” which many of us find very helpful-looking at the milestones after treatment. This is the link-
After the treatment finishes, then what?
I hope you can learn to adapt to your new life after treatment and enjoy making the most of it!
Sarah xx
