Hello to all the strong women out there!
My name is Sara and I have been newly diagnosed early stage breast cancer. Yes I know i'm super lucky! Ive just turned 40 and a single mother of 2 teen boys. I've had partial mastectomy and now w...
Forum Discussion
@iSara It's too hard telling people all of the time. Other people have different ways but this is what I did (and am still doing):
I told my managers at work (by phone and email as everything happened so quickly); I told the kids (on the way from Breastscreen to the GPs - had no choice because they had to be picked up from school and we had to rush to the doctor's); my husband told his family; I rang two key friends and told them... I explained as much as possible, through tears on both sides of the phone, and asked them to contact everyone else in the friendship groups. They became my gatekeepers for that initial period. I asked them to tell people that I wasn't ready to be contacted as it would be too hard to constantly have people asking how I was going, particularly if I was having a rare moment when I wasn't thinking about the cancer, but that I would use them to send out information to others. Then I set up a blog on wordpress - it's kind of half informative and half diary. I use it to provide updates about my physical condition and treatment, but also to express some of the emotional side so needless to say, it can get pretty dark at times, for which I don't apologise. I have provided the link to my family, friends, and colleagues so that they can see where I am. It is published using obscurity for security - I don't really mind who sees it but I figure it's not really of interest to anyone who is not interested in me, or who is not going through something similar.
I told my managers at work (by phone and email as everything happened so quickly); I told the kids (on the way from Breastscreen to the GPs - had no choice because they had to be picked up from school and we had to rush to the doctor's); my husband told his family; I rang two key friends and told them... I explained as much as possible, through tears on both sides of the phone, and asked them to contact everyone else in the friendship groups. They became my gatekeepers for that initial period. I asked them to tell people that I wasn't ready to be contacted as it would be too hard to constantly have people asking how I was going, particularly if I was having a rare moment when I wasn't thinking about the cancer, but that I would use them to send out information to others. Then I set up a blog on wordpress - it's kind of half informative and half diary. I use it to provide updates about my physical condition and treatment, but also to express some of the emotional side so needless to say, it can get pretty dark at times, for which I don't apologise. I have provided the link to my family, friends, and colleagues so that they can see where I am. It is published using obscurity for security - I don't really mind who sees it but I figure it's not really of interest to anyone who is not interested in me, or who is not going through something similar.