hard going

I have stage four breast cancer, diagnosed in August. I have been bombarded with so much information and dealing with so many health professionals I am still reeling.  It seems impossible to escape mentions of cancer, especially in the media, and I am feeling overwhelmed.  All the cancer literature and web sites say discuss it with family and friends, but what if you have no family or friends? I feel very pessimistic.

  • You can talk to as many people as you want on here Liz66. No one will judge how you feel or how you react. The whole cancer experience can be completely overwhelming. 

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    Hi Liz,

    I am so sorry to hear that you have no family or friends to discuss your cancer with. As Rileyroo says, there is always someone here to listen to you and advise.

    I don't know how mobile you are. Can you still get out and about? Do you have a Maggie's Centre or the Haven near you? These are centres where you can pop in at any time for a cuppa and a chat. They also provide vaious alternative therapies and counselling free of charge. Have you been put in touch with Macmillan? This is another source of support within your own home.

    If you ask your care team or GP, I'm sure that they can point you in the direction of other sources of help. There are a number of cancer charities with different names throughout the country.

    You haven't had much time to come to terms with your diagnosis, so I'm not at all surprised that you are feeling so overwhelmed.

    I do hope that you can find a suitable service nearby and that you will meet people who can support you through this.

    Please let us know how you get on. As I said before, we are always here for you.

    Kind regards,

    Jolamine xx

  • Thanks for your reply rileyroo.  I'm angry at those who are going to survive cancer when I am not.  Totally illogical I know.  I think I should seek some counselling but I feel quite sick from treatment and that's really bringing me down.  Not feeling very charitable towards anyone at the moment and am afraid of falling apart.

    Thanks for letting  me sound off.  Hopefully I'll be a nicer person soon!

  • Get it out of your system then you can start to deal with it. Small chunks  at a time works best. 

    You’re not a bad person, you’ve been thrown a curved ball and none of us know how we will react to that until it happens. 

  • Hi there ..

    Your not alone .. there's lots of us here, who have been where you are now .... when I felt scared and a bit lost, jolomine helped me cope, and brought me through those early days ... so listen to what she says .. she a very wise owl ... and rilleyroo has got me through those days since when I've had bad days ...

    I had a grade 3 and masectomy last July ... looking back, it's those first scary months that are the worse .. and feeling angry at the world is normal ... like Rilley says , get that anger out... then get your self a pair of vertual boxing gloves .. get in the ring and trade it blow for blow .. cancer wants to brake us ... it wants us to give up ... well there's lots of us in that boxing ring ... and we'll all punch it right back ..

    It's not about winning or loosing this journey wer all on .. it's about sticking two fingers up, and saying it's got a fight on its hands ... one thing we all have in common, is trying to kick cancers butt ... 

    You can do this .. many have trod this path before you, and many more will follow ... let's kick butt together ...  Chrissie x

  • Hi i cant even imagine what your going through but just thaught i would pop on theres a mcmillan helpline they have cancer nurses that can give you answeres to some of your questions allso marie currie helpline and cancer research nurses you can ring them for advice its free and they are so helpful and understanding if your from uk there is financial help you get about 85 quid a week you the dwp will fastrack it you need a ds 1500 form from hospital then you contact dwp and someone comes out allso you can get disabled parking permit from parking team at main council takes about a week it costs about ten quid .i know all this stuff must be rattling around in your head ime just trying to give more practical advice your entitled to it and need it helps buy a few treats and very handy for parking ive not had cncer but my partner had so my best wishs to you .paul ps if your feeling lost or lonely and lost the samartans chat line is open 24 hours for people who need to talk i used them just ring the free number and say hello i need to talk they will do the rest if your not gelling with that person just say thanks and ring back there is a lot of people out there including here who want to help you just need to ask so your not alone we will chat and do everything to try and help .bless you