Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm only 3 weeks out from a lumpectomy (I was stage ZERO!) but am on an emotional roller coaster. I'll turn 78 in a few weeks, go to the gym every day, don't eat crappy food, and always considered myself to be in the best of health. Nonetheless, I was diagnosed with breast cancer by my last mammogram less than 2 months ago. It's common to hear the saying, "laughter is the best medicine", but on the 2nd night following my surgery, I watched a Woody Allen movie (Manhattan Murder Mystery) that was SO funny that I literally laughed until my sides split -- at least my stitches did, and I wound up with a big hematoma and my breast looked like I'd been to a body-painting booth at a street fair: every color in the rainbow, and it filled up with blood until it was a couple cup sizes larger than my other breast. And the pain, once I got up from watching the movie, was excruciating. I'm thankful that the cancer was caught so early, but in addition to the physical pain I'm still experiencing, at times I feel overwhelmed by a deep feeling of sadness and depression. This is totally unlike me. I've been having nightmares at night and have been combatting them with sleep meds and Tylenol. I feel like I've been walking around on under a dark cloud. I've started going back to the gym on a daily basis but, also unlike my normal self, feel like I want to withdraw from others and not socialize as I would normally do. I'm just wondering how common this depression & sadness hangs around and the best way to overcome it. Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated.