can shake the fear and anxiety.

Katidid193

how do you shake the fear the somewhere there is still cancer. even after the ct scan only.showed a liver cyst and adrenal adenoma and the bone scans showed nothing, the results after the masectomy actually took me.from stage 2 to stage 1, I keep thinking that I am still full of.cancer. my stomach is so upset from crying all the time and the doctors never really come out and say you have no more.cancer. how do you really know if the cancer in you're breast didn't come from somewhere else. I am making myself nuts. hoping when I see the oncologist she can give me more information.

gb2115

The fear will start to fade a little with time. What is your next step? They will eventually get you on hormone therapy to take care of any cells that may have escaped, that's how my oncologist described it. The fact that your nodes were clear plus good scans... That's great news!!

wallan

Hi Katidid:

Hugs to you. I understand how you feel. Its scary and easily freaks you out. I call it "canceritis".

For me, I cry alot when I need too and then I distract myself whenever I find myself obsessing on what ifs...The distraction has to be something really appealing that will hold my attention. The hunt for that distraction can be a distraction and keep you busy. Getting distance from anything related to cancer can help me too so no googling, or even breaks from visiting this site too much helps. I also tell myself over and over and over to focus on the things I can control. There are things I do that help me focus on being healthy in general like my diet and exercise and relaxation. Yoga, swimming, nature walks, meditation all help. Having fun helps. Following your cancer treatment plan helps.

And if I do have weird pains or symptoms, I wait a few weeks and then go to my doctor. The danger with this is though if you focus on the symptom, it can get bigger and annoying and I do make it worse than it is for sure. So, a really good suggestion a woman on these boards suggested is to write down your weird symptoms you are worried about, date it, and then put it away out of your site and again distract yourself. Then in a few weeks, read over your list of symptoms. Since you were not focussing on the symptom, it will likely fade and when you see it in writing, you will laugh at yourself. This is a great strategy because over time you learn to trust your body again. If the symptom is a true health issue, it will not go away and then you get it checked out. And even then, know that most of the time, (as I have learned) your symptoms will be nothing or something totally treatable and minor.

I emphasize that you do learn to trust your body again and the anxiety/fear fades. Cancer goes to the back of your mind. It really does happen. I was dx with stage 3, positive nodes and grade 3 hormone positive cancer 13 years ago and I believed I was a goner. But, it has not recurred. I used to be full of anxiety about it, but as time passed, I actually came to think I had beaten it and it really went to the back of my mind. The reality is though, it can come back, but as time passes,the risk goes down and I continue to focus on what I can control. I enjoy my life and have fun and do what I want. This helps.

Hugs to you. You can do this. Feel free to PM me too. Support on here is great when you really cannot shake your "canceritis".

wallan

msphil

hello sweetie I agree it will fade with time But I did have those thoughts for a long time I did keep my self busy and I would talk to myself and say" I will get through this and cancer u have to leave my body" over n over again with my faith n family especially my Fiancee at the time now husband kept telling me u are going to get thru this. I am now Praise God a 23yr Survivor thi s yr. God Bless Us All. msphil idc stage 2 0\3 nodes Lmast chemo before n after surgery rats n 5 yrs on tamoxifen

msphil

hello sweetie I agree it will fade with time But I did have those thoughts for a long time I did keep my self busy and I would talk to myself and say" I will get through this and cancer u have to leave my body" over n over again with my faith n family especially my Fiancee at the time now husband kept telling me u are going to get thru this. I am now Praise God a 23yr Survivor thi s yr. God Bless Us All. msphil idc stage 2 0\3 nodes Lmast chemo before n after surgery rats n 5 yrs on tamoxifen