Coping with a cancer diagnosis at Christmas, some helpful tips...

Im going in for my second lumpectomy...then my radiotherapy...feel pretty good at the moment....enjoying time with my 4 yr old grandson today....his mum is not as fortunate as me...she has stage 3 and is on the last two of her chemo....31 yrs old...both diagnosed within a wk of each other...how lucky am i to have reached 59yrs without it....im more afraid for her 😢

Thank you! I will be watching this thread for all the tips and advice. We should have been in the Italian Alps for Christmas but this cancer has sure thrown in the spanner in the works. So do not have any plan for an Australian Christmas which will end up being a good thing i guess as know will be expecting any on my part.

I have had all mt CT scans this morning and off to have the bone scan at 1:30 today. My surgeon had a cancellation so am in on Thursday instead of Friday this week. Not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. Just another to stress about it over the weekend.

What a good idea Giovanna!

I was diagnosed on the 4th December last year, had two operations in eight days, saw a counsellor, a plastic surgeon, and then everyone vanished, including my breast surgeon and breastcare nurse, for a month, with the exception of my oncologist, who I'd met once. And she went away two weeks after everyone else. I was bereft and felt abandoned. I had so many questions, concerns and issues and felt I had nowhere to turn. I was not on this forum at that time, a newb in this world, and desperately upset.

So my advice would be to find out if any of your medical team are taking leave, and ask them very specifically who you should contact in their absence. I had offices that were completely unattended, with no one checking the answering machines. It was horrible.

As for Christmas... well it's often a challenge at the best of times. A lot of us are torn between wanting to keep things as normal as possible, and pulling the (summer) doona over our heads and hiding. I soldiered on and did Christmas as usual including dinner for 13 (which included a lovelorn Fin visiting in the vain hope that my sister would fall in love with him... that added an interesting dimension to the day!). Due to my family history I especially needed to keep things normal for my children. However, depending on your circumstances I would advise looking deep inside and making the decision carefully. If you need to step away, bow out, withdraw etc, this is the time to do it. Our usual mantras here of being kind to yourself and putting yourself first doubly applies at Christmas, which is exhausting enough as it is, without cancer treatment added on top.

We're just over a month out, so now would be a good time to email those concerned to tell them that you will or won't be contributing as normal.

I'm the only person who can 'do' Christmas in my family, and this year face the decision of how to approach it. I'll be away until late on the 22/12, so the decorations will be left for others to do! I will not be thrashing myself to produce the perfect day. I simply do not have the energy or the emotional wellbeing to take on everyone's expectations this year. I'll be as organised as possible but I'm not going to load myself up with the usual stress.

Well, that's my resolution anyway...!

Thanks @Giovanna_BCNA,

I look forward to some of the suggestions as I will be having treatment over the Christmas period. I am due to see the Radiation Oncologist tomorrow, so it will be nice to know what the plan will be. At the moment we have a trip booked back to NZ to be with family for Christmas and I am wondering if they will work around this or whether I will have to change my plans.
Thanks,
Michelle  :)