New girl on the block

I am also a "Survivor" and have returned to work 5 months ago, after a year off with BC.  It really did help me to understand that every one thinks differently when I went to a "Coffee and Chat" support group, face to face, in Launceston.  No one is right or wrong in what they say on here or do, we just share how it was for ourselves.  I have always been like an open book and cant change that either.  So on the day I found out, I stood outside the GPs and said to my husband in tears, "Now what do we do, we are supposed to go to work?"  and we never did go to work that day.  I did go back and worked the days I could up until the day before surgery though.  We were like zombies on that first day, and we sat together and phoned our parents.  The best results, and talks, for us, came after the tears.  For us it was being honest and real, it was just who we are.  We also found that it brought a relief and release of tension and fear.  Some-times you get angry with each other too, and that is part of it.  I dont have children, so I didnt have to put on a brave face for any one.  I never felt like I was a burden when I did cry, I thinked I rolled pretty quickly through each emotion and handled it ver y  positively when I was able.  For me, I found a couple of chats to Counsellors made the world of difference and what helped was speaking to some one who wasnt emotionally involved.  The mental side of this is the tough one.  I have made a best friend through one of the coffee and chat catch ups at the Cancer Council, and she was totally opposite to me in my behaviour.  She threw away her "My Journey Kit" and I used it like a bible.  See, we are all different, which makes us all right!  Good luck.  It is a weird time, but I have found it to be quite the "eye-opener" to many things too! X Bel