6 more treatments and I can't stop crying
I see alot of post by others who are feeling down at this time and maybe part of it is just the time of year. For me, I am doing radiation right know. I started with 4 months of chemo fallowed by a modified radical of the right breast. This is suppost to be the final step. I have kept a positive attitude through this whole thing. Last week my skin started to crack and is raw. THey had to skip two days of treatment to give my skin a chance to recover. Today we start a smaller targeted area for the last 6 treatments. Everyone keeps telling me "wow aren't you happy?" and I am happy that it is almost over. But I feel like this has taken all that I am. I don't have the fight left to make it through this last week. I am in pain. I hate my body. I can't stop crying. My loveing supportive family can't understand why I'm feeling this way now. I don't understand myself.
Comments
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Nani, so sorry you are feeling sad.
I think a lot of women "hit the wall" at the end.
I talked to one counselor who said a lot of bc women have "mini" ptsd.
Does your cancer facility have a social worker or therapist?
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NaniAlice,
What Cookie said is so true. We can all "hit the wall" at one point or another. Alot of people are predisposed to depression during the winter and especially during the holidays. Try not to be too hard on yourself. People like your family expect everything to be ok just as soon as we near or complete treatment and of course everyone here who is living with BC knows that's just not the case. I think talking to a social worker or therapist is a wonderful idea. You've been through hell. Just because you can see the light at the end of the tunnel doesn't automatically mean life is going to suddenly be wine and roses. You can get through this and we're all here to help. Take care.
Dee
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Hang in there NaniAlice!
I was about in the exact same spot you are in 3 years ago. I did 'okay' thru chemo and everyone thought I should be back to my cheery self becuase I was done with chemo, right? I also went to radiation through the Thanksgiving/Christmas season just liek you. You're supposed to be all festive, happy go lucky person/all is well with the world and here you have to drag yourself to radition every single day. IMO people made me feel like I was going to get a Latte/Expresso every day like it was a fun thing to do. Just about to THE day you are, I just started bawling when I saw the nurse. Didn't even know I had it all pent up until I blew. She had the cancer care coordinator with me in a matter of minutes. Didn't even know they had someone who could help with the emotional aspect. And here I am.... 3 years later and I don't know how I did it, but I'm even off the anti depressants I'd been on ....even before BC. It may not feel like it now, but you WILL get through this!
I feel for you!!! Hang in there kiddo.
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NaniAlice,
If I may add a few words of encouragement to all the great posts above, what you are experiencing is very common and normal. I sailed through all my treatments (did not do chemo) until the third week of rads. Then I got hit with depression/crying every morning. I attributed the crying to the fact that my mother died a few weeks before my lumpectomy, but I have since talked to other women who got hit with depression and feeling very emotional around week three of rads.
You, your body and your psyche have been through an ordeal. You have been very strong and brave, but the cummulative effect of all that stress hits you eventually. The good news is that once you let it out, you start to feel a whole lot better. Give it some time. You WILL get through this!
As for other people saying you must be 'happy', I think they just want to encourage you. No one knows what a diagnosis/treatment for cancer feels like unless they've been through it themselves. Even then, we are all unique so our reactions are as varied as snowflakes.
Best of luck to you!
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I experienced depression after I finished all my treatments, 6 months of chemo and 6 weeks of radiation. I started on Arimidex (the estrogen receptor blocker) and my depression increased. The research has shown that BC can cause depression, Arimidex and similar drugs can cause depression, going through chemo definitely scrambles the emotions and the intellectual processes.
Nobody says anything about the lack of estrogen which I believe is affecting my mood. Some women are estrogen dependent and not having any is depressing. It took me a long time to realize that I might need antidepressants and once I started on one, I'm feeling better. The side effects of the aromatase inhibitor includes anxiety, insomnia and depression plus bone pain Accepting that the side effects are real, that feeling depression is not unusual and working with the benefits of modern chemistry makes life better.
Best wishes for all of you out there. You are not alone and all is well
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Bless your heart NaniAlice, I am right there with you. The wall that everyone talks about I have hit. I do not know how long I am going to be thrown against it, but it is all part of this journey! My co-workers, family and S/O ask me "why are you not smiling? - you should be happy it is all over and done with!!! I have to be really straight with them and say, "not meaning any disrespect as I have and continuing to appreciate all of the support that you have given me, but remember that this is a disease gives you your own personal 9/11, it is your first thought in the morning and the last at night and it is going to take time to come down from the hell that this body and mind has gone through and stress that you would not wish bc or any kind of cancer on anyone!
There are days that I can cry all day and cannot stop, in some respects we mourn the bc, remember this has and will continue to be in our head, sooner or later we have to put it on the back burner, and then we struggle how to find a new normal. We are all in this together and together we can pull eachother through.
The mornings are always the toughest for me. I want to wake up and feel normal and this is when I do most of my crying! I cannot talk to anyone I just go about my business and get ready for work and then finally around lunch time I start feeling better. I am taking antidepressants, ridalin for cognative and am seeing a counselor. I will get there, we all will.
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How are you, now, NaniAlice? Did you finish the rads?
I think I had a few of the episodes you talked about - one pre-surgery, one toward the end of chemo, and one as I began rads - I fell apart during the mapping appointment.
Not only is this an emotional roller coaster, but there are some biological causes of depression - chemo among them.
I hate taking meds but I have found that ambien helps me a lot. Being able to get a good nights sleep without waking up with long and lonely anxiety attacks has really improved my outlook during the low times.
Let us know how things are going. Hopefully you had a good, healthy cry and it was fleeting...
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