Hello!
I was diagnosed with endometrial cancer last Wednesday and am awaiting surgery. I was coping pretty well until today it seems (the diagnosis was not unexpected but still knocked me sideways despite that)! I work in the NHS as a Clinical Support Worker (a discharge therapy team) but I am not medically trained.
I went to work this morning in my local hospital but when I was called upon to support a patient's sister (a complex case scenario) all my fears and anxieties for my own health came crowding in and I became overwhelmed and had to come home. I really thought work would be a good distraction but that appeared not to be the case. My team leader and several trusted colleagues are aware of my diagnosis.
To give my diagnosis some context, I have felt unwell since last autumn ( I just knew something wasn't right) and have had to cope with increased musculoskeletal pain including chronic neck/back pain from osteoarthritis (?) and hip pain from tendinopathy. I seem to have gone down a rabbit hole in thinking the sudden increase in musculoskeletal pain (since February of this year) is somehow connected to the cancer diagnosis and is a sign it has spread... I find myself really not coping today. Any support gratefully received.
My cancer had not spread and I had adjuvant chemotherapy and adjuvant radiotherapy. In my case it was because of the grade of the cancer not the stage. I was stage 1b. They look at lots of different factors but they will explain them to both of you so you can make the decision that is best for you.
