What happens now?

Hi there beautiful,

What you are experiencing is entirely normal and after reading a few other comments it is a common theme post treatment.  Similarly I was diagnosed back in April 2015, surgeries, chemo and rads. All oncologists I spoke to warned me of the post treatment low.(melt down).  I think I just got so frustrated with myself, expecting to feel better.

Remember you're not a sook and its best to let it out, vent, cry.  Some days are better than others.  I've tried to give myself some structure (just like treatment) by doing some exercise every day (even if it's just 15 min. Lying down to breathe)

Recovery takes time too.

Karen xx

You don't have to do anything if you don't feel like you are up to it. Be aware it can be 6 to 7 weeks after chemo etc that you begin to pick up and get some good strength going.

There's no rush and maybe in the transition period one or two interests you've never thought about might become appealing. Something therapeutic like just watering pot plants can be quite healing.

Enjoy the rest while you can. 

Thank you so much everyone. Sometimes I think my family and friends should read what is posted on here as this is where we all let out fears and emotions which others close to us do not understand but reading what 100's of women/men are writing helps paint the picture of what it is like to experience bc and why it is so hard to speak out loud of what is hidden behind the smile  and brave face. Thank you....off to see the shrink (haha)...

Hi Wennoo5

What yu are feeling is definitely quite normal for what you have been through over the last 8 months and it doesn't end there does it. That is the thing that is harder for friends and family to understand I find. Yes treatment is over but for breast cancer we still will still be with us for time to come in the form of recurrence concerns which we are reminded about with our regular blood checks etc.. (Not that we need reminding) Definitely just one day at a time. Breath deeply.  Let yourself heal and recover. Be gentle with yourself. One thing I read on here somewhere is something that when I finished my treatment Christmas Eve I read again and am trying to do "When treatment is over, make sure you take time to heal your spirit" xx

Hi Wennoo5,

I so understand how you are feeling and I still have more treatment to go, but I often think about how things will be after it all. You are so not a sook, I had tear for you reading your post.  I don't think it matters what it is called, journey or process by definition it's crap is what I say, and for the most part I think it changes our lives forever as we used to know it before bc. I am sure it will take time to get back to something like normal. I know for myself this has taken up enough of my life and my families so if I have trouble dealing with those feelings I will get counseling.  I have met some awesome people in the medical profession and have made friends for life and that lovely lady is the only good thing about what we have gone through. Stay in touch and please be kind to yourself. Take care, 

Cheers Jen ?? ?? x 

Hi. 

I know exactly how you feel, as I am just a little behind you. Diagnosed May 2015, finish radiotherapy next week, 22/1, exactly 8 months later. 

There's part of me that's more scared now than I have been in the last 8 months, when it's just been get through one day at a time & keep a bright & happy face. 

Take care, Lyn

Hi I so relate to this post, when I finished active treatment everyone thinks I look so well. Yes Iam well but there is still alot going on that I can't explain to others about how I feel. I have just gone back to see my counsellor as not  coping, I feel like I'm in a cycle that keeps repeating it self, work, tired, husband and well meaning friends. Every day I wake up and try and be positive as it is a new day and most times it works, yes I'm happy to be here. I think when you are going through treatment you just cope because you have to and when it is time to go back to normal, it isn't the same.

Sook you are not, and I have never been able to call it a journey, mine is a shi.....y trip. Sending you a hug take care

Hi there

i finished active treatment 6 months ago after 16 months. I'm really struggling myself. Like you everyone thinks I should be thrilled that I have beaten cancer and should be back to my old self but I am so far from that it's not funny. I was warned that it would take a good 12 months before I started to feel more like my old self. On a whole, I coped fairly well, with only a few meltdowns (mind you one of those meltdowns lasted for 4 weeks) but I didn't really have the time to digest what was happening to me. It sounds silly but I've only realised who serious this was and how ill I have been once treatment stopped. I miss the staff and the friends I made at the hospital, although I do keep in contact with a couple of people. I still have check ups every 3 months and that just puts in all straight back in my face. I tend to cope by pretending that everything is fine and dandy. As a strategy it has always worked well until now. I don't call it a journey either. For me it is a process. A journey is more of a trip, something I want to go on. I never realised the toll that bc had taken not only on me but everyone around me. Like the rest of the process, it takes time. Take one day at a time and just know that many of us feel the way you do. Hang in there. Karen xox

ps congrats on finishing treatment. It's a good milestone. 

Hi there ,yes it's tough but you will still be in the loop for the next 5 years or longer and believe me those appointments come around quickly to, I was diagnosed in 2012 and honestly there isn't a day I day please stay away bc, your never quite the same but you do get through it, it will great for you too glial to a professional but unload here to, these ladies offer a wealth of info. Good luck adean 

Thanks for sharing-sounds like a very normal reaction.I still have a way to go but do wonder what you do when that active treatment phase finishes.I imagine it is just trying to find a new normal and living life.I have joined the local dragon boat group and have a fantastic support group locally.The dragon boat group have a trip to Florence for the bc group in 2 years and having that long term goal to get there with all these gorgeous ladies helps me to focus away from my current situation.The ladies all assure me things do get better.