Get results from hysterectomy and lymph nodes on Monday...

It’s understandable to feel some apprehension and anxiety, even panic, about getting your results. When I went in for my hysteroscopy and my hysterectomy I got a taxi in. My husband took me in for my results appointment but I wanted to go into the hospital and receive the results on my own. Might that be an option? To get someone to take you in but you go in alone and maybe just get a taxi home?

Hi B74 I think we bottle up all our emotions and carry on as best we can but when we have an actual appointment date it becomes very real. I know at this point I felt very emotional and anxious. All you can do is accept the fact that it is happening and take care of yourself xxxx I’ll be thinking of you on Monday

Linda

When I was in my tests/waiting/diagnosis/waiting/op etc mode, and struggling to deal with the feelings of being overwhelmed, not being able to take things in, and generally feeling anxious, a wise person said to me that anxiety isn’t really about the things we’re anxious about, it’s about the feeling of not being in/having any control. As a childhood trauma survivor I felt that and it resounded with me, as I know I like to be in control, not of others but my environment and life. So I recognised that I needed to try and learn to adapt to this cancer thing not being something I could control, and that I just needed to try and accept and go with what I couldn’t control, and trust the people in charge of my care. It wasn’t easy, but keeping trying to return to that mindset helped - to try and let go. What I could control was my understanding of things, so I asked endless questions and made sure I really owned my diagnosis and treatment. 

Hello again B74

I remember feeling very shaky and tearful as well. I opted to get mine by phone call and the surgeon himself called me. I then opted to get a call from one of the CNS the following day as I needed to process what I was being told and it also gave me a bit of time to think about what I wanted to ask. 

I can understand you wanting to go alone and I have felt like that with a lot of my appointments. I needed to focus on me and not on anyone else. 

I had a group of people who would offer lifts and I did try and share the load a bit. I didn't like asking anyone though. Most people I would just say- thank you for offering a lift but I need to go in alone, sometimes I even said it was covid regulations. (There were still some in place in 2022) Are you far from your hospital? Is a taxi an option? I actually had some hospital transport arranged for some of my appointments and that was free and run by red cross volunteers. They were good because it was someone neutral, they didn't ask a lot of questions but were there if you did feel like talking. 

I hope that your appointment goes ok and it is very natural to feel anxious and panicky. I certainly did on lots of occasions. It was one reason that I opted to have my results by telephone and then followed up a couple of weeks later with a face to face appointment. I felt more comfortable in my own home. It gave me time to process things and it took the transport issue out of the equation. I felt it gave me a bit more control. Afterwards I was then able to tell my family and then friends in my own time.

Good Luck

Jane

Thank you all, there is definitely much truth in what you all acknowledge and it does help me to not feel so alone. 

As a foster carer, I have a network of people who I know, but not intimately, one in particular is great and is going to take me and drop me off and my daughter is going to try to finish work early to collect me as she is the person who I will need to tell first.  

I just need to keep reminding myself to breathe and tell myself I will find a way to manage this.

Well done for thinking that through and working it out - that sounds like a plan! One other thing that was said to me that I found helpful is this: we don’t have to have it all figured out at once. I found my way a chunk at a time, one step of the ladder at once. And you will find your way through it too. 

Wishing you all the best for your appointment tomorrow. I hope it goes ok.

Stage 1b, grade 3 so all clear but they want me to have radiotherapy

Hi B74, well done going - really glad to hear from you.  A few of us here have had radio so when you’ve had a chance to process this please do feel free to ask any questions that come to mind. Better to ask us here than to Google. 

There’s also a dedicated Radiotherapy Support thread on here which you may find helpful: community.macmillan.org.uk/.../radiotherapy-support-thread-inc-brachytherapy

I started that thread just before my treatment started and used it as a kind of diary thread - and it grew from there.