HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post - It is not normally like me......BUT......

Louise O'Brien · 12-02-2008, 02:15 PM

Mary Jo:

I'm hoping you're just dealing with a garden variety sinus infection (besides it's that time of year) and that in a few weeks this will just be a bad memory.

This is the awful legacy of this disease - wondering if or when the other shoe will drop. That's our reality, that's what we always have to live with and it's hard to explain it to anyone else. As positive as we try to be, we can never escape that nagging worry. It doesn't matter what stage we're at, how large or how small the tumour was or what our markers were - it continues to haunt us.

We try our damndest not to think of it because we want to enjoy every single day - but it stalks us whether it's a conscious worry or something that we try to ignore.

I think a lot of us have those days when we identify an apparent symptom that makes us worry. We just don't talk about it. We don't want to worry our spouses and we don't want to depress our friends.

So we carry it with us and usually go through the worry alone.

I wonder if the professionals around us are as familiar with this "syndrome" as we are. Is it similar to some kind of post traumatic stress syndrome?

I guess I'm just saying that what you are going through is so very normal and perhaps it hits those who fight so hard to stay positive just a little harder?

I think we're bound to have these days. How could we not? I hope this is the case with you. You've been such enormous support to so many on this board and I know we're all hoping this is just a temporary glitch.

Hang in there.

12-02-2008, 02:15 PM	#4
Louise O'Brien Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 75	Mary Jo: I'm hoping you're just dealing with a garden variety sinus infection (besides it's that time of year) and that in a few weeks this will just be a bad memory. This is the awful legacy of this disease - wondering if or when the other shoe will drop. That's our reality, that's what we always have to live with and it's hard to explain it to anyone else. As positive as we try to be, we can never escape that nagging worry. It doesn't matter what stage we're at, how large or how small the tumour was or what our markers were - it continues to haunt us. We try our damndest not to think of it because we want to enjoy every single day - but it stalks us whether it's a conscious worry or something that we try to ignore. I think a lot of us have those days when we identify an apparent symptom that makes us worry. We just don't talk about it. We don't want to worry our spouses and we don't want to depress our friends. So we carry it with us and usually go through the worry alone. I wonder if the professionals around us are as familiar with this "syndrome" as we are. Is it similar to some kind of post traumatic stress syndrome? I guess I'm just saying that what you are going through is so very normal and perhaps it hits those who fight so hard to stay positive just a little harder? I think we're bound to have these days. How could we not? I hope this is the case with you. You've been such enormous support to so many on this board and I know we're all hoping this is just a temporary glitch. Hang in there.