Facing Cancer Recurrence, PTSD & Acknowledging Mental Health

Margaret, can you ask your oncologist if they have a cancer coordinator and if not if they know of any support groups? Ours had information for our hospital group, but also provided information from other medical centers that had support groups and classes. Also, when I went for radiation that office also had information for support groups, yoga, etc.

@colleenyoung thank you so much! I doubt it matters but mine was hodgkins not non-hodgkins. I think mantle radiation in that time frame had the same affect on everyone. When I read this "How do we cope? How do we react? What do we do?
How have you all reacted to another cancer? Or the possibility of another one? Has your “already compromised” mental health been able to deal with it? How? Or not?" I just had to respond. It is scary...holding your breath at every test result...letting your mind wander into the "what if" area. Quite honestly I know that it will happen. If this much has happened already I don't see how it will be over for the rest of my life. Remember the show Doctor? I am that patient! lol But I am happy 🙂 Happy I'm here. Any one of those things could have killed me.
Now I am in recovery and my art has helped me. I'll check that out .Thank you for the link

Hi all,
Today's member spotlight features @merpreb who most of you have met in this discussion group. Read Merry's interview with fellow member John Bishop to find out what surprised her about Connect and how she finds balance in life. Puppies or kittens?

– A Survivor: Meet @merpreb https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/about-connect/newsfeed/a-survivor-meet-merpreb/

Check out all the Member Spotlights here https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/about-connect/tab/newsfeed/

@cherlea Hi 🙂 Am I understanding this correctly.....you had a double mastectomy and have had cancer come back?

To find groups on Connect, go the Groups Directory https://connect.mayoclinic.org/groups/
I've uploaded 2 images to show how to find the Groups Directory in the menu on a computer or mobile device. You can search for groups using the search or sort them alphabetically etc.

Learn more about how to follow and unfollow groups and more in the Get Started on Connect guide: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/get-started-on-connect/

Good morning to @merpreb and the rest of us who have experienced recurrence of our cancer diagnosis.

This morning I read this Mayo article on Managing Your Emotions After Cancer Treatment and felt that many of the ideas were worth sharing. Here is the link to the article,
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cancer/in-depth/cancer-survivor/art-20047129
For me, the paragraph titled, "Fear of recurrence is common in cancer survivors." was most helpful and I thought about others on Connect. The suggestions included being honest about your fears, talking about them, healthy lifestyle habits of nutrition and exercise. As I thought about myself, after three cancer surgeries, I realized that the following have helped me deal with my fears. Here are some examples: I attend support groups with other cancer survivors, I've also joined exercise programs intended to be gentle (not vigorously aerobic), I've worked to plan nutritious eating.

I look forward to hearing from you. What do you do to keep your fear at bay? How do you deal with the normal fears of another recurrence happening?

Good morning @hopeful33250. Good morning everyone! What a wonderful article about cancer recurrences. Thank you so much.
My most feared fear is that I would die from my next cancer, that there would be no treatments anymore for me. My feelings are that I wouldn't know what to do. I would be lost. I mean how do you die? How does anyone? What do I do to prepare from this eventuality. I'll be lost. My parents never taught me a thing about dying. The way I handle this - with no guarantee of a solution - is that I let these fears repeat themselves enough that they literally wear themselves out over time. I think dying is a major fear because we haven't a clue what it's all about after we actually die. Is there another type of existence after we die? Will a higher power greet me? Or is death the same thing as before we are born and therefore we will only have existed in people's memories? As you can see, I haven't resolved this yet. I hope that I do but I might not.

I appreciate your sharing your fear with us, @merpreb. Probably many of us have that fear of death as well.

@merry

I think as we get older we all think about dying whether we are sick or healthy. I think about it now but it’s not being afraid it’s about missing my family will they be ok. But then these are human emotions because we on earth know what it’s like to miss someone. As for after death that all comes down to faith and what we believe. I had a religious upbringing and I believe with all my heart. That I will see my family someday and be with the Lord even tho it can’t be proven to me. It’s all in the heart and what we believe. We will all find out someday but I am
Not afraid. Stay safe and keep the faith.