Confused, no reaction
Hi everyone, I was diagnosed with DCIS about a week ago, and I am not really feeling anything at all. No tears, no fear, nothing. What is wrong with me? I have three adult sons, each took the news in ...
Forum Discussion
Hi @TassieGrandma - welcome to this forum where you’re absolutely right, you’ll find tons of advice, support and someone to ‘talk’ to basically any time of the day or night!
There is absolutely nothing wrong with your response to your diagnosis. Everyone reacts differently and this is simply your way of coping. It’s actually a blessing in a way, as you’re evidently pragmatic and will simply deal with whatever you need to do, one step at a time.
I was very much like you. I was diagnosed in January with bilateral invasive lobular carcinoma and knew from the beginning that it would be a double mastectomy for me. No tears, no drama in that department.
In fact my biggest concern was that I was in the middle of a very busy term at the school where I work and I was hoping my surgeon would agree to delay my surgery until the school holidays. He agreed and I relaxed. My 3 adult kids were fine because I was, as was my husband. I chose to tell my 12 year old closer to the op time and he was also cool - again, because I was.
The only time I was very anxious was waiting for staging scan results. But no tears. Once they were over I could relax and get on with life until my op.
My surgery was in April and since then I’ve started chemo and have radiation and hormone therapy to look forward to. But I still have not shed one tear about my diagnosis or treatment.
The one time I had an absolute academy award-winning meltdown was when I landed up in hospital with a low white blood cell count during chemo and after 3 days, with absolutely no sign of illness they were not letting me go home! The flood gates opened - it was all to do with no-one listening to me or advocating for me (and it had the desired effect - I was allowed home) but who knows? Maybe it was also a bit of pent-up emotion about my whole story.
Taking one step at a time is the best thing we can all do, and if you can do that with a pragmatic, positive attitude then that’s awesome!
Having said that though, don’t be surprised if it does hit you for six when you least expect it - that’s absolutely, 100% normal too.
Go with the flow and jump on here anytime to question, download or just be amongst people who know exactly what you’re going through. Good luck with your appointment on Friday and please let us know how you’re progressing!
Lots of hugs xxxxx
There is absolutely nothing wrong with your response to your diagnosis. Everyone reacts differently and this is simply your way of coping. It’s actually a blessing in a way, as you’re evidently pragmatic and will simply deal with whatever you need to do, one step at a time.
I was very much like you. I was diagnosed in January with bilateral invasive lobular carcinoma and knew from the beginning that it would be a double mastectomy for me. No tears, no drama in that department.
In fact my biggest concern was that I was in the middle of a very busy term at the school where I work and I was hoping my surgeon would agree to delay my surgery until the school holidays. He agreed and I relaxed. My 3 adult kids were fine because I was, as was my husband. I chose to tell my 12 year old closer to the op time and he was also cool - again, because I was.
The only time I was very anxious was waiting for staging scan results. But no tears. Once they were over I could relax and get on with life until my op.
My surgery was in April and since then I’ve started chemo and have radiation and hormone therapy to look forward to. But I still have not shed one tear about my diagnosis or treatment.
The one time I had an absolute academy award-winning meltdown was when I landed up in hospital with a low white blood cell count during chemo and after 3 days, with absolutely no sign of illness they were not letting me go home! The flood gates opened - it was all to do with no-one listening to me or advocating for me (and it had the desired effect - I was allowed home) but who knows? Maybe it was also a bit of pent-up emotion about my whole story.
Taking one step at a time is the best thing we can all do, and if you can do that with a pragmatic, positive attitude then that’s awesome!
Having said that though, don’t be surprised if it does hit you for six when you least expect it - that’s absolutely, 100% normal too.
Go with the flow and jump on here anytime to question, download or just be amongst people who know exactly what you’re going through. Good luck with your appointment on Friday and please let us know how you’re progressing!
Lots of hugs xxxxx