Hello Sharon, 

I am so sorry to hear about your mum's lung cancer diagnosis it must be a worrying time for you all as you await to find out more about staging and the next steps. It sounds like going to the oncology department with your mum for the scan revived some difficult memories for you from when you yourself were going through a cancer diagnosis. Now that you are having to support your mum and perhaps accompany her to various appointments, it might be worth having a talk to your GP about this panic attack so that you can have some coping strategies in the event this occurs again. Your doctor will be able to point you in the right direction for this. 

I hope you will also get to talk to others here who have also had a panic attack in similar circumstances. 

Best wishes, 

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

hiya, diagnosed in December 2017 and under went mastectomy and radiotherapy as I refused chemo...I was diagnosed with ptsd from the shockl of the cancer diagnosis. ...it came on after I had finished treatment...I was severely depressed with anxiety...I feel a,lot better now as I decided not to worry about things that may or may not be going on....

Had a ct scan today for my lungs...noticed after my scan I had the familiar sense of foreboding and stomach flips, feeling a bit shaky now...I guess its all the build up to the appointment  and the reminder of being diagnosed at the same hospital two yrs ago.

Hi Sharon, 

I'm really sorry to hear about your mum. That must've floored you. 

I totally get it. For me, it was the other way round. My mum died suddenly from an aggressive uterine cancer and exactly 3 months later I was told I almost certainly had bowel cancer, which was confirmed 19 days later. (December '17)

My first chemo session was in the same chair Mum had been in for hers and it was even the same nurse that booked me in. Nightmare. I had to just get on with it as I knew I needed the treatment. 

The trouble came when I had to get my chemo pump disconnected 48 hrs later. Because it was the weekend, I had to go to the oncology ward, rather than the day unit. That was where my mum had died. I got to the entrance of the ward and froze. I literally couldn't move and felt like I was going to pass out. Thankfully, a lovely sister came up to meet me; she actually recognised me as she'd been on the ward when Mum died. She couldn't have been lovelier, calmly taking control and leading me to a deliberately different room at the opposite side of the ward. 

When I was honest with them, they were able to help me cope with it all and sought to make it as easy as possible for the family. But I still found it tough, mainly because I was putting pressure on myself to 'cope' with it all, without allowing myself to feel it. 

Your mum will get it, having been through it with you, but remember there are plenty of people out there to help you help her. Trying talking to the CNS or Macmillan nurse, both of whom will get it. It's a perfectly natural response to being back in that environment under those circumstances. Heck, I hate going back to the oncologist and still avoid the ward!! 

Talking about it really does help. Don't beat yourself up for feeling like this. You are not alone. Be gentle with yourself, you've been through a lot. 

Xx

Hi Sharon,

What you describe is a lot more common than you might imagine.

Google cancer and ptsd and you'll see  that although there haven't been too many studies the consensus is that PTSD rates are about 3 times higher in cancer survivors than the general population and that between 15% and 30% of us will experience anxiety, depression or PTSD. Hardly surprising given the psychological trauma we all go through.

Good luck

Dave