Struggling with life after cancer

Hey,

I was told I was in remission a week ago, which is obviously fantastic news and I feel so lucky and blessed, but I'm really, really struggling with the after effects. 

I feel exhausted all the time, which I've been told can be an after effect of chemo, but during chemo I didn't feel anything like this level of tiredness. This new level of exhaustion has only really started about 4 weeks after chemo ended. It's making me feel like something is wrong, but the scans showed no evidence of disease so I should be reassured, but I'm finding it difficult to be. 

On top of this, the treatment caused a blood clot in my leg, and as I had been taking blood thinners for over 3 months my consultant told me I can stop taking them now. My leg is still swollen but I've been told that it's not routine to rescan the leg to check if the clot is still there, they just assume it would have gone after 3 months of taking apixaban? My leg still being swollen is concerning me that there may still be remnants of a clot there and I'm scared that by stopping taking the medication the clot could travel to my lungs or brain. I've been told to keep an eye out for signs of a clot, and if I notice any to consult my doctor, but the only symptom of a clot I had previously was a swollen leg - which I still have - so this advice is pretty useless to me. 

Sorry I feel like I've just used this post to have a bit of a rant. I guess I'll phone my GP on Monday to mention the tiredness and also maybe ask them if they can arrange a d-dimer test for me, as this should help to either rule out a clot, or perhaps signify that there may still be the remnants of one there, at which point I guess they will arrange for me to have a scan of the leg, and this would reassure me greatly. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this post, and I hope everyone is having a lovely Saturday. :happy: 

  • Hello there.

    im Sean, and I've been in remission from Burkitt Lymphoma for almost a year now, following chemotherapy treatment.

    I can tell you that I was completely wiped out following my treatment for a good couple of months - tired, achey, just knackered. As you've mentioned you got your good news a week ago (congrats!) I'm presuming you've not long finished treatment?

    please don't rush yourself, and don't feel like you should be ready to bounce off the walls. Treatment is gruelling on the body, and even though you may feel like you got through it fine, it does take its toll. Give your body chance to recover itself from the battering it's had.

    I felt like I breezed through my treatment relatively unscathed, but like you the after effects took a while to overcome.

    all the best

    sean