Breast Cancer and Dreams

BreatheDeep

Hi, I was diagnosed back in April of this year (2015) and in reading through all the posts on this site, was curious if anyone here has had any dreams (night time dreams) about having breast cancer, either before, during or after. For myself, over the past few years I have had a couple of dreams that hinted of a potential breast cancer problem in my body. They prompted me to be very diligent in getting my annual mammograms, and thank goodness I did because I was diagnosed early on. I know that our bodies communicate to us through dreams sometimes and if anyone is willing to share I would be really interested in hearing about your experiences. Thank you.

ksusan

I haven't, but that's very interesting. I'm still waiting for a dream in which I can see my body so I can learn whether my unconscious self-representation still has breasts or not!

solfeo

I haven't had any dreams related to this diagnosis, but 10 years ago something interesting happened during a benign scare (I have had many over the years). I had an enlarged axillary lymph node and in the midst of investigating that they found several issues that required extensive stereotactic core biopsy of both breasts. That was the most worried I had ever been about BC up to that point.

I'm not particularly superstitious, but I guess I was looking for signs out of desperation, and I put a thought out there to my grandmother who had passed away, asking her to come to me in a dream if I would be OK. A couple of nights later I dreamed I walked up to the counter at the breast center, the phone rang, and the receptionist said, "It's for you," and handed me the phone. It was my grandmother's voice, "Hi honey," exactly how she would have said it in life. I was so excited I woke myself up so I don't know what else she would have said, but I didn't worry much after that, and everything did indeed turn out OK.

I'm still not superstitious but just for the heck of it I asked for a similar dream while waiting for this DX, and I got nuttin!

BreatheDeep

Hi solfeo, thank you for responding, I found your dream experience so wonderful! I have been working with my dreams for many years and have seen so many examples of what you shared here - that someone who has passed on comes back to bring a loved one support or encouragement. And the fact that the dream brought with it a sense of peace and that things turned out okay for you is so lovely. As far as asking for a similar dream now, you may want to put that thought out there again before going to sleep, even every night, it helps set an intention for the dreams to respond and sometimes that takes a few tries ;-) Thanks again for sharing!!

BarredOwl

Hi BreatheDeep:

You might be interested in this article:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dreamscloud/a-dream-...

I read somewhere that the subconscious mind may be aware of something, like a subtle physical symptom.

Alas, I didn't have any prescient dreams. I did have many nightmares during the diagnostic phase. I would wake up from them unable to recall the precise details of the dream, all worried that I was missing something or not taking some critical action. These dreams were similar to those I had about professional matters.

BarredOwl

BreatheDeep

Hi BarredOwl, thank for posting that link here, I know DreamsCloud but never saw that article and it is precisely what I am talking about. That kind of body-wisdom that knows and finds a way to communicate. The fact that the dreamer really listened and took action was critical and I loved the story, thank you again.

Stephmoen

my sister pediatrician told Her that he had a young patients mother who kept dreaming she had bReast cancer over and over she finally checked it out and she did! Crazy!! I have had dreams for years off all my hair falling out nightmares really I know it sounds vain but it really happened due to chemo

BreatheDeep

Hi Stepmoen, wow, both of those are fascinating, and your dream about your hair falling out and now being on chemo doesn't sound vain to me at all! Thanks for sharing here!!

Easter

I just discovered this group. I am a 25 year breast cancer survivor. My breast cancer was diagnosed in dreams, and I had to battle my way through doctors and an OK mammogram to convince them I needed help. A generous "believing" surgeon listened to me, and, after a needle biopsy, confirmed that, had it not been for my dreams, I might have been dead within a year with few symptoms to support the diagnosis. My cancer was fast-moving and aggressive; my chemo treatments were aggressive; but my dreams followed me throughout the treatment process, giving me dream imagery I could use for active meditation and for writing. Years after my initial diagnosis I wrote my story: She Who Dreams [New World Library, Novato, CA, 2003]. My story and book and dreams still receive attention; and I lead dreamwork classes in the Adirondack mountains through Creative Healing Connections. The numbers of people who dream both their diagnosis and healing journey is impressive and highly dependent upon keeping a journal and writing all dreams in the journal. I discovered - after my diagnosis - that I had been dreaming about my breast cancer diagnosis for almost two years and maybe longer. I worked with a friend, learning a process for working with my dreams and mining them for guidance and imagery while they were still fresh. The best advice I still give is to keep a journal and look back through it time and again. Dreams often reveal their content days, weeks, months and even years later. Someone mentioned a study by Dr. Burk. I, too, participated in that study; and Dr. Burk continues to collect stories of dreams, diagnosis, and treatment. If you would like to hear more of my story, go to my website (redacted by Mods) or follow the link on VoiceAmerica with Ann Gelsheimer, who just last week asked me for a new interview. (redacted by Mods)

BreatheDeep

Hi Wanda, thank you for sharing this, I actually got your book years ago and will have to go back and read through it with this new diagnosis. I find it all fascinating. I've had a dream journal for 35 years and always write down my dreams which is why I suspected something from the dreams I had written down. Can I ask you, did you have to have hormone therapy? If so, how did that go for you?

MarieTherese

I have had a few nightmares since being diagnosed that have left my heart pounding. I am hoping these will stop after the surgery and treatment. I think our subconscious minds are playing out the worst case scenarios in order to prepare us for what might happen.

I also think that many women are in tune with their bodies. We feel our hormones shifting and in my case I knew something was different even though there was no obvious lump.

MT

BreatheDeep

Hi MT, ahh yes the nightmares. this has often felt like a waking one as well. I agree with you that so many women are in tune with their bodies and its interesting that you "knew" something was different.

I will share that during this process, after surgery and radiation, I dreamed I had Brain cancer, and even when I awoke, I knew that for me it meant that my thinking is dis-eased. The fear factor of all this has affected so much in my life even though I have lived so much of my life trusting the Universe and the Creator. I did however go and have my brain checked out just to be 100% sure and it was fine. I am a firm believer that thoughts are things, I have studied that all my life, and yet in the midst of having breast cancer, and in trying to make a tamoxifen decision, I just can't seem to get to my center without the fear being present, and that is no way to make decisions. Also, the radiation changed my dreaming process and I have been having a very difficult time remembering them, which I so often use for guidance in my life. I am doing everything I can right now to at least get that (and the rest of my life) in balance.