It's great news that your cancer was removed and I am sure you are also feeling relieved but you might be experiencing all sorts of overwhelming emotions after everything you have been through. The sadness you describe is something I have often heard about from cancer survivors, the feeling that you feel you ought to feel happy but that you only feel sad and sometimes a bit down. There are many reasons for that and each person is different and will react differently for different reasons - sometimes it's simply after the intensity of the treatment and then it all stops and it all sinks in and you have time to reflect on what has happened. You are definitely not alone though in experiencing these feelings, and I hope that you will hear from others on here who have had cancer and who felt the same way because no one can explain it better than someone else who has been through what you describe.
There is a section on our website you might wish to look at - it's called Life Beyond Cancer and it's a great resource for anyone in your situation.
Our friendly team of nurses also have a helpline you can ring on 0808 800 4040 - it is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm so don't hesitate to get in touch with them if you want to talk things through and share with them how you are feeling.
Our forum is here for you at any time of day or night anytime you feel like sharing your feelings or simply wish to offload.
My husband heard " its all gone" from the surgeon and for a few minutes we felt overjoyed. When we got home we both felt very flat and emotionless. I felt I desperately wanted to cry but couldn't. It was very very strange.I think over the months of investigations CT scans MRIs surgery etc. We may suppress our emotions as feel the need to be strong and positive then hearing "its gone" such a short sentence following the months of being on an emotional rollercoaster is almost an anti climax anx an emotional shock. I hope you csn soon feel the joy in life agsin and wish you all the best.
Thank you for sharing that. I think you’re right about it being an emotional shock. Thank you for taking the time to respond. I hope your husband is doing well,
you do not say what type of cancer you survived, but in almost all cases it involves losing part of you along with a change of how your body functions going forward.Given that your mind has been linked so closely to it every minute of everyday previously, it can be no surprise that a time of readjustment needs to take place, and for some this can prove to be more problemattical.
We all mourn the things we had previously and were lost, usually these are replaced with alternatives and we ove on.Some cancer treatments save a life,but disrupt a lifetime.Coming to terms with that,surrendering the lifestyle you previously thought lay mapped out in front of you can take somecoming to terms with.
For myself l am fortunate in that l have never looked back only forward, embraced and accepted the challenge of the new life that my surgery and treatment made possible, twelve years on now.
You do not state how long since your treatment,but l am guessing not so many years have passed yet. It is said that time is a healer, but without a perspective and focus on a future vision, this in itself may not be enough
Hopefully in due course along with some effort from yourself, those clouds can be lifted from your mind,releasing once again to explore the wonders that surround an everyday life, just needing the freedom to see them
Here an explosion of migrating birds,leaving and arriving, birdsong everywhere, newborn lambs in the fields, a freshness in the air with the scent of new grass released by a warmer breeze moving through.The sound of childrens voices carried on the wind,arriving in glorious snatches as they are once again released into the brightness of a burgeoning summer
Be gentle with yourself and allow your mind that freedom to see all that brings pleasure to it once more
