Forum Discussion
This is where I'm at
Fifteen years ago I started on a journey to stop using man made chemicals in or on my body. It took ten years to find alternatives that worked for me but I finally made it. Headaches, hiatus hernia, hot flashes, mood swings, arthritis, IBS, TIAs, hayfever, muscle cramps, and whatever. All under control with natural products and cranial osteopathy. Unfortunately cancer doesn't care how healthy you are. It is happy to attack anyone. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in April this year, so with disgust I accepted that I needed to poison my body with chemotherapy, but I would do so also using complimentary therapies.
Ten years natural solutions down the drain. Chemo has a mind of its own and takes over everything. My natural remedies no longer work. I am trying to find new natural solutions but so far have had limited success. Headaches, hot flushes, heartburn plus the usual side effects of chemo are now all controlled by more chemicals. Arghhhhhhh.
On the positive side, chemotherapy has taken over the cancer and shrunk it to miniscule proportions. Hooray! My arthritis seems to have disappeared. Hooray! My IBS has not played up. Hooray! I have not had any TIAs. Hooray! On top of that, the blisters I have on my toes as a result of the chemo are responding well to lavender oil, hooray! and the blood nose is reduced by poking lucas paw paw ointment up it, hooray!
I know I have glossed over lots of negatives, but by keeping hold of what is good I can keep moving forward. On Tuesday I have an appointment with the Psych to try to deal with the overwhelming sense of grief that hits me unawares. One step at a time!
I have now finished all four rounds of AC and am currently in the Paclitaxel cycle (four down, eight to go) with Herceptin every third week for a year. I will be having a mastectomy and lymph node clearance before Christmas.
Love to all
Melody
27 Replies
- Hi @Sister, The mindfulness class is at the Andrew Love Centre and is a very supportive group. The other participants are all open and sharing as well as offerring a welcome listening ear as does the trainer. I now feel quite nurtured which is a strange thing for me to like but chemo makes us feel and act so different from what we are accustomed to. I will be fine now but I do now have emergency back up if I collapse in a heap. Thank you! Melody
- Are you in a group session for the mindfulness stuff? It might be worth asking others, or a quiet word to the trainer - you may want a name for future reference. I certainly wasn't ready to talk to anyone until near the end of chemo and then I needed someone, fast. I was doing mindfulness sessions during most of chemo treatment.
- Thank you everyone for your positivity. I started the mindfulness sessions on the same day and found them incredibly helpful. The trainer is very supportive and so much more helpful than the 'trained oncology' psych. I will just continue with these weekly sessions unless I start to feel I need more. I have to admit, banging my head against a brick wall would probably be more effective than visiting that same woman again. Fortunately, I think the mindfulness classes are going to do the job that the psych gets paid for.
- I don't know if the woman I am seeing is the "right" one but she seems nice enough and at the moment all she's had to do is listen. However, she seems to understand cancer and the impact it has. @Blossom1961 I honestly can't believe that anyone can say that they specialise in cancer issues and then come out and say stuff like that.
I wonder if anyone in the Geelong area has recommendations? - @Blossom1961 what a horrible experience. Please don’t let it out u off - u just need to find the right person for u. My shrink seems quite nice - I have only had one session with her but she didn’t immediately offend me like the person u unfortunately had to deal with xoxo
- Dear @Blossom1961, what a dispiriting experience. But I love the way you responded, good on you. While I'm sure there a good traditionally trained psychologists it's so often a tick the box mentality. And this widespread view that the treatments don't cause these effects just makes you feel inauthentic and belittled ... I found a wonderful counsellor, he does not get Medibank rebates so it's expensive but totally worth it. He listens and hears, he sees his role as sustaining and holding his clients through their pain and offering compassionate service. I hope you can find someone good for you too.
- @Blossom1961 It's a real chemistry thing finding a good psych eh? I've been seeing a community funded one who specialises in breast cancer. She's good, and because she's community funded, she's cheap. She's helped me but I don't think I've entirely clicked with her. I picked up a card for another one today. I don't know if I'll change but I'm thinking about it.
- Oh dear! While I am a great believer in getting counselling assistance, you need the right one. A friend of mine encountered a similar thing, a shrink delving into childhood, including a 22 page questionnaire. My friend had just lost her partner of 20 years (yep, cancer) and was looking for some help dealing with grief. She wisely ditched that shrink and the 2nd one was much more helpful! Tick a box counselling doesn't help anyone.
- Gosh! @Blossom1961 - that physc sounds loopy!! Is there anyone else around that you could switch to that is in your local area?
Well done with how you are handling all of this - and all the best with your remaining treatment xx - Did she suggest mindfulness and daily doses of gratitude swallowed with liberal quantities of antidepressants?
Ah, I've had a long running relationship with a shrink though I occasionally cheat on her and see other mental health professionals. The majority make me feel certifiably sane. I assume there is a method in their madness though I would prefer it wasn't $70 a session out of pocket to find out. MXX
