Does life go back to normal?
Hi! thanks to BCN for putting me onto this discussion page. I was diagnosed with ER, PR & HER2+ breast cancer June 2024 at the age of 53yrs. Had surgery to remove two (R) breast aggressive tumours, three months of chemo and 4 weeks of radiation. I’m now on Anastrozole. I feel I got off lightly and just thought I’d get back to my normal life. That wasn’t so easy. I’m gradually returning to full-time work, exercise and trying to return to my once active single social life. I’m having acupuncture to help with immunity and general wellbeing. I had beautiful long blonde hair. Spent lots of money on my hair and nails. My question is… what do all you amazing women do to get back into fitness, to avoid the tiredness, and to help with your hair and nails? Are there any good vitamin supplements? Am I able to use collagen? Thank you for your advice xx
One Year since the diagnosis feeling strong and well
Hi, today it is exactly one year since my bc diagnosis and I am a little reflective. What a ride it had been. I still remember clearly the phone call and shock, terror, nervousness, sadness etc with that news. What took place after that news was a roller-coaster ride of treatments with physical and mental and emotional impacts. In the last 12 months I have had 2 surgeries, 4 months of chemo and a month of radium and now pills. It was tough for sure but I made it through. I think I am very fortunate as I didn't have too many side effects or set backs. I was fatigued for sure and pretty emotional at times. I did my exercise which I think contributed enormously to my well being. I am grateful to my husband and son for their support. I had a couple of good friends and family too. I am grateful for the doctors and the skill and knowledge. I am also grateful for the support I received here on bcna. I would have been lost without this group at times, especially in those wee hours of the morning. Thank you! Today I feel strong. I am proud of myself for getting through this. I am grateful for my resilience and determination and courage. While I never wanted to join this group, I have made good friends and I have grown and healed in many ways. BC has given me a different life and view of the world and I am thankful for that. I have much to look forward to including various road trips, fun times with friends and family, my walks in national parks and the beach, my exercise and just everyday life. I am also going to be a first time grandmother later this year which is super exciting. I love babies. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks for reading my story and being there for me.
Bouncing forward - can we do this?
There is this expectation that after treatment, we will bounce back and be our old selves again. Of course, anyone who has been affected by cancer or knows someone who has been affected, realises it's not that easy. There is a lot of emphasis on learning to accept the "new me". Tiffiny Hall, personal trainer, ex-Biggest Loser trainer, has come up with this concept of bouncing forward. She has related it to pregnancy and accepting that her body after childbirth will never be the same. So instead of pressuring herself to "bounce back" and have the same body she did before pregnancy, she advocates bouncing forward and accepting her new body and becoming the best "new me" that she can. Obviously, she was super fit before pregnancy and will always look 100 times better than the average person. However, I was wondering if it was an idea we could adopt or adapt to cancer survivors? Can we bounce forward and move into the space of acceptance of our new way of living? Can we find a similar phrase to "bounce forward" that has more meaning to survivors? Let's get creative :)
The Funny Things
I thought we should have a thread about things that are so absurd about survivorship they shoot right beyond being depressing and just make us laugh, and of course for the things that are just FUNNY. It might be something legitimately hilarious, maybe something upsetting that you've started laughing at for one reason or other, an experience related to survivorship that you just think was funny in an awkward or revealing way, whatever your take is. xo