I’m posting becaise I’m hoping someone might understand how I’m feeling. I was diagnosed with grade 1a uterine cancer earlier this year. I was fast tracked so from diagnosis to full hysterectomy was a matter of weeks. Physically my recovery has been textbook but emotionally I’m all over the place. I’m terrified the cancer will return, I’m exhausted, I’m crying all the time. Is this just me?
Hello Jd73
I do understand how you are feeling.
My cancer was in 2022 and it can all feel very overwhelming and things happen quickly. For me it wasn't until after treatment ended that I felt I had time to even start processing things.
You have been through a serious illness, major surgery and it all has been a bit of a whirlwind. Although you have recovered physically, mentally it can really take it out of you.
The fear of recurrence is common for most/if not all of people who have had cancer. It is a natural reaction to a scary experience. For me a way of coping was to know the possible signs of recurrence and if anything felt amiss with my body, I would contact my CNS or doctor and would ask to be seen. I did have regular checks for 2 years and found these reassuring.
If you have not yet been to your GP, I would consider going to talk about how your mental health has been affected by the cancer. It may be that you need a little extra support for a while.
You could also contact your CNS and see if your hospital does any life after cancer courses as sometimes people find these helpful.
Online HOPE programme for your patients | Macmillan Cancer Support
I did the above course- online and found it really helpful. It is free and you can just dip in and out as much as you want and there is no pressure to complete it. It is broken down into short sessions with little videos and exercises that help deal with some of the challenging emotions that people may experience.
If talking things through would help, then we also have the Macmillan Support Line available from 8am-8pm daily and they can also have a look to see if there is any further support in your local area.
it is not just you and it is understandable how you are feeling. For me it did get better with time. We are here when you need us.
Jane
