Facing Cancer Recurrence, PTSD & Acknowledging Mental Health

Hi teresa. Thanks for welcome. I missed talking to all of you and getting the encouragement needed. I go to mayo the middle of nov for my scan. And had the eeg done here in sioux falls. Have to stay positive no matter what. Otherwise you are letting the cancer etc win. Right people????

@sakota- Hi Joan, it's so good to hear from you. Your language is just fine. I know just what you mean about knowing something is wrong and are stumped as to what it its. What kind of a doctor are you seeing for tremors. I hope that it's a neurologist! I think that we have spoken about this before. Where do you have tremors? Could it simply be essential tremors? My neurologist suggested that I had it. Here are a couple of sites that discuss this.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/essential-tremor/symptoms-causes/syc-20350534
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/essential-tremor/multimedia/essential-tremor-test/img-20177820
Has a doctor reviewed all of your medicines so that any culprits could be taken of of your list?
Have you spoken with @hopeful33250 as she has essential tremors too.?

@sakota- Absolutely Joan. It does help for sure.I have to wait until early December for my next CT scan. I do not like to wait, at all, for anything! lol Did your doctor suggest what the changes in your left lung were? Or what it looked like?

Hi merry it’s good to see you too. I was to a neurologist at mayo and they couldn’t find anything. They suggested I could do the 72 hour study so just had that done here. No the essential tremors were never mentioned but anxiety was mentioned. So will see what happens when I get the results. Meds have been checked. Mri was done had a short eeg at mayo. But nothing showed up.
Here it is sept. And I am not looking forward to winter. I still keep busy with my sewing and signed up for an online class for photo shop. Of course my three great grands are so full of fun and happiness. They are the best medicine around.

Best wishes. Merry

@sakota- Joan keep me posted please!

Yesterday I had a bone marrow biopsy, done by a medical professional whose technique made the whole procedure very bearable, with no sedation nor "twilight sleep". Laying there with a pressure bandage on, recovering, and speaking with the pathology tech who prepared the slides, it came to me that I am now dealing with my fourth cancer. Malignant melanoma, squamous cell skin cancer, cervical cancer in situ, and now Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. While I wait for the most recent results, to be handed down on 10/4, my mental state fluctuates. Wanting to be proactive in the care plan. Wondering "why me" I have so much I want to do. Waiting for all the facts to sleeve it all together to create the best future possible [I also have a rare kidney disease that may or may not be related]. Knowing that this community of Mayo Connect is my support. Honored to be here, hoping to make a difference.
Ginger

@gingerw - Ginger my heart just did a nose dive with your news. Why me, the universal cry is never answered but if feels great to scram it out! You have certainly had your fill of being challenged so I hope that the challenge god will go somewhere new, forever. You are so strong to continue to be a support to me and I'm sure that I can speak for a lot of us when I say this.
I will hold my breath until 10/4 when you will hopefully know more with relief!. I hope that your healing from your biopsy will bring you safely to Mayo meet up later next month. xxoo

@azkidney57 So many people feel anxious about upcoming test and test results. In fact, it's been coined as the term "scanxiety," a term likely started by a cancer patient. There is a discussion dedicated to how to cope in the Cancer: Managing Symptoms group here:

– Coping with anxiety while waiting https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/coping-with-anxiety-while-waiting/

AZKidney: Living the "now" moments can really help with anxiety. I hope you'll share your tips in the discussion linked above. Or if you prefer, start a new discussion called Scanxiety.

@azkidney57 - Good afternoon. You are so lucky to be cancer free right now! Scanxiety is every cancer patient's bane to carry, but I am so glad that we get it. Imagine that there were no follow up scans to help catch cancer early! Being mindful actually does help, exercise, the whole bit. I allow myself to worry. Having cancer is no holiday. I have to feel everything to go from one stage of having cancer to another and then start all over again when I get another cancerous lung nodule. I've been doing this for over 22 years and for me it doesn't get easier. I have multifocal adenocarcinoma of the lungs. I'm carrying around maybe 4 cancerous lesions but won't know if any of them will be treated until early December, 6 months after my last CT scan. Writing about it here and in my blog https://my20yearscancer.com/, certainly helps.
I wish doctors would keep all of their opinions to them self. All doctors worry about metastasis. So do patients. We can manage our cancer reactions by tending to what is the most important for us to tend to to help ourselves on an even keel. Early AM waking hours are the hardest to handle. Everything is quiet and there is a sense of isolation. Can you read or write to feel less isolated> Do you have family at home?
Has you doctor given you reading materials about your cancer, or has your team of doctors?

@merpreb By golly, if you can hold your breath that long, I certainly bow to you LOL. I will be journaling my thoughts, and doing some sewing to create lap robes for the infusion center there at the cancer institute. I believe in being of service, and channeling my anxiety and nervousness into creative things fills a need in me. My mind says "it is what it is, let's get the results and diagnosis so we can tackle it." I told my oncologist, "I want to address this, and be as great a patient to you as you are as a doctor to me." I am sad that my husband will not be with me when I get the results, because he is not really understanding everything. He will be 800+ miles away. I know that I have been given this row to hoe as the saying goes, for a reason.
Ginger