Worrying symptoms 3 years post breast cancer

I am now 3 years post breast cancer with a good outcome.  However things  have changed for me recently in that I have the following symptoms.  I’m very confused and forgetful.  Normally very switched on! I am clumsy and dizzy.  Have occasional short headaches and occasionally feel slightly sick.  I am also dizzy. My GP is contacting neurology to see if I should have a brain scan in light of the breast cancer?   
My GP said just to be on the safe side due to history of breast cancer and nothing has spread.  I am too scared to look on line

  • Hello evie10, 

    Well done for being 3 years post breast cancer but I am sorry to hear that you have experienced new symptoms recently and you are confused and forgetful and feeling clumsy and dizzy. You did well to flag this with your GP and it's great that they are contacting neurology - it's good that they are being thorough and that they have organised a scan to be on the safe side. It sounds like it is a precautionary scan given your history of breast cancer but do not assume that this means it has spread as there are so many other things that could explain your current symptoms. 

    You are right not to look online as this will not give you any answers and will make you feel even more anxious bringing up often the worst case scenario and the least likely scenario too which might make you worry unnecessarily. So you are going about it the right way by keeping well away from the unreliable Dr Google. Waiting for important tests and results is really hard though and there are helpful tips on this page to help you cope while waiting for important news.  

    I hope that you will hear from other forum members who have had breast cancer before and experienced similar symptoms and that they will be along shortly to share their experiences with you. 

    Best wishes, 

    Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

  • Hi Evie,

    A very warm welcome to our forum.

    I am sorry to hear that you are having these problems and can understand how worried you are. You have done the right thing by alerting your GP to these changes. As our moderator, Lucie said, there are many other possible causes.

    Lucie is quite right about steering clear of Dr Google too. Most of the information here is aimed at the more spectacular cases and will only serve to scare you further. I sincerely hope that someone in the Neurology Department can shed some light on the reasons for these symptoms and that you don't have too long to wait to be seen.

    Here's hoping that the solution is much less complex than you are thinking.

    Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on. We are always here for you.

    Kind regards,

    Jolamine xx