Dealing with check up anxiety

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Cindyjolinn
Cindyjolinn Member Posts: 3
edited July 2017 in Stage III Breast Cancer

Tomorrow is another checkup to see if any evidence of recurrence and what my tumor markers look like. I always have anxiety for a few days before my appt. I was stage lll er+ grade lll. It's been four years since my diagnoses and I'm grateful for each year. Honestly there are times when I just want to quit all the tests and such because I do get overwhelmed. I buck up and show up and ask lots of people for prayer...it doesn't consume me except during those appts..

So what do you do when anxiety flows over your being?

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  • Jujube2
    Jujube2 Member Posts: 29
    edited July 2017

    cindyjolinn,

    Honestly, prayer gets me refocused. I try to envision moving right through the appointment , and I am kind to myself, reminding myself that going to the appointment is important for taking care of myself. I picture my oncologist and think about how he is there to help me.

    When I feel anxious, I try to think of others to pray for, and that does help me. I talk to friends who have been through it. I ask them to pray also for me.

    :) I know


    I will pray for you today!!!



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  • hopefour
    hopefour Member Posts: 459
    edited July 2017

    Cindyjolinn….like you said "you buck up and show up" and that takes courage, so give yourself credit for doing something very tough. I too pray and hope that all will be well with each 6 mos check up. Praying today went well for you and you have an all clear for 6 more mos!

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  • Artista928
    Artista928 Member Posts: 2,753
    edited July 2017

    anxiety meds, but that was pre-cancer too..

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  • Denise-G
    Denise-G Member Posts: 1,777
    edited July 2017

    Cindyjolinn - I relate!  I had my 6 month checkup this week - 5.5 years!!   I was getting some test results

    and was extra anxious.  Plus, my mom, also a BC survivor, was having a mammogram and her 6-month checkup

    simultaneously.  We got all good news (after an unplanned ultrasound as they felt something under my mom's arm).

    My MO is a huge help.  This time he told me, "You are going to have a long life.  And if, God forbid, the cancer

    comes back, we have made major breakthroughs since your diagnosis."   How can you not love those words?

    However, I find that after I get home with the good news, I am still a little anxious.  It takes me a few days to

    relax and realize I have another 6 months until we do this again.

    Hoping things went well for you!!



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  • sbelizabeth
    sbelizabeth Member Posts: 2,889
    edited July 2017

    Denise-G, my own diagnosis in October 2011 too, and there have been a boatload of improvements and new developments in treatment even since then. It's not a cure, but it's encouraging.

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  • 7of9
    7of9 Member Posts: 833
    edited July 2017

    Hope your check up went well. I just had clean CAT of neck and chest after a recurrence a year and a half ago. Attivan city and up the Ambien the week before. Coming back down now. I find if I plan out things to do/will be happening regardless of test results it helps. Like my son's baseball schedule, yardwork/planting, and even vacations it helps. Too many women are hanging on and even thriving in the stage 4 group to quit on the checkups and the chance of catching it early (again). I think we do them and ourselves a disservice to not keep up with checkups. A wise woman once said "Getting tested doesn't make you you have it or not, it just gives you more options". I don't know if they'll ever "cure" this beast, but there are more and more treatments that are breakthrough and allowing women to go on for years even decades. The anxiety does suck. Luckily I have my sometimes shitty job, exercise and a kid with a good husband to keep my mind focused elsewhere. Hang in there!

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  • Traveltext
    Traveltext Member Posts: 2,089
    edited July 2017

    Scanxiety is another dreadful side effect of cancer. I use Valium twice a year at check up time. Now that I've got two cancers, I've timed my check up appointments for both of them in the same weeks, so that I still only have two freakout times a year.


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