Beyond Treatment

[Quilter1]

Mjo,
You are completely normal to feel the emotional drop after chemo. I too felt like I hit a brick wall once the chemo was finished. I think I even went into a mild depression. I felt like I was in a free-fall without a parachute. Thank goodness you have this site. I wish I had found it when I finished my chemo. I realized afterwards that I had such a sense of security (whether false or real) while on the chemo. No one warned me that there could be an emotional withdrawl. I was also facing another stress in my life. My brother was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer and went through chemo the exact same time that I did. I finished my chemo on August 31st 2006 and 5 weeks later watched my brother die from his cancer. Being at an emotional low, needless to say I was petrified that I would take the same path.

The good news is that we find ways to pull us through (faith always present). I had to shut down a business that I owned for several years since I could not maintain it through my treatment and starting over at that time was too much to handle. I was told to change how I eat, lose weight, lower stress etc. It was all overwhelming. I picked one thing that I could focus on to take more control of my health. I started a regular exercise routine. For several weeks I changed and made it my one priority. I still took care of my family, but they were very supportive of my new crazy schedule. The point of all of this is I felt like I had been drained of all my emotional and physical strength. I felt like I was at the base of a HUGE mountain looking straight up wondering how I would ever climb it. Find something that makes you happy and focus on it. Pick something you can control in your own good health and focus on it. You will see that over time the worries melt away. I doubt they ever go away completely, but they will not dominate your thoughts. This is what worked for me. I hope that you find something that works for you.

As for Herceptin, I did a yearly regimen of that. I actually looked forward to ending the treatments. By the 4 months I was feeling healthy and normal again. My hair had grown in enough to get rid of the hats, spring was in the air.....all wonderful things. So, I was glad not to have to be tied to the drip for 90 minutes. You have made it through the worst part emotionally.

Smile, you will wake up one morning and realize that you haven't thought about your cancer in days or maybe even weeks.








As Joy said it may sound dumb, but time will help heal our worries.