Post Treatment Letdown
This month I celebrate my five year 'cancerversary'! I planned a big party at my home for 35 women whom I've met while on this journey of healing. All of them have or have had breast cancer. The luncheon, itself, was lovely. Everyone seemed to have a great time. I loved it and was so happy to reach this important milestone.
I have been really struggling with surprising feelings of sadness, depression and loss. I don't understand it. I thought I would feel excited and happy and relieved. I don't.
Has anyone else had this experience?
Comments
-
Yes, I just reached my third year today, and I am far from celebrating. I feel as though I have just walked into a new field filled with freaking land mines. I'm hoping it will pass. Lately, even on the TN's thread, I am finding what seems to be a lot of gals 6, 8 and 4 1/2 years out that have progressed or recurred. What the hay is that??????? Scares the bezeesus out of me. I guess the reality is that we are never ever really safe from this beast of a disease being one step behind us. As I said above, I sure am hoping these feelings will pass - and soon!
Congrats to you for five years - I hope you have at least 50 more!
Linda
-
Congratulations to both of you! I remember what the oncologist at Vanderbilt told me - she is a triple negative specialist - she said if I made it three years, that would be very good and if I made it 5 years, I would most likely be ok from there on out! I know you have both heard that kind of thing before but it never hurts to hear it again, I'm sure!! I find myself looking for something to give me the sense of security I had before diagnosis.
I'm at a year now but just finished chemo so I'm getting nervous already.
-
I'm tired and struggling with writing the right words tonight. I feel in a way that reaching a year since diagnosis is a milestone, but I feel more worried than ever. Of course I know the next year is a crucial time for triple negative or any grade 3 breast cancer. I'm hopeful that I will feel better once I reach the 3 year mark, and then the 5. An oncologist who specializes in triple negative at Vanderbilt told me making it to 3 years without a recurrence is very good, and if I made it to 5 then I would most likely be ok there on out. I think I am always searching for something to give the sense of security I had before my diagnosis. Maybe we hope that each milestone will give us a feeling of security again.
Congratulations to you both - and I hope you both have many, many more cancer free years to come!
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team