Is there ever a time I forget I have Breast Cancer?

@kandisn are you still in the middle of treatment?

After treatment, most of us put cancer on the back burner. I don't like the term "survivor" because we never know what the future holds. But it is possible to mostly forget about it while remaining vigilant for recurrence.

I am 10 years out knock on wood. During my cancer treatment I would not have expected to do so well. Recurrence rates are way down, my doctor said. Current treatments are pretty effective and do less harm to us than treatments 20 years ago.

Yes, it will, my friend!

It will go away, but be patient. My issue after my breast cancer diagnosis was fear that any ache or pain was “breast/another cancer”. I lived in quiet fear for about a year and a half (my diagnosis was 3 years ago). I finally decided to just stop and live (and enjoy my life). And for the most part, I am. You’ll get there. Remember any cancer diagnosis is a bit of shock to your system, emotional as well as physical.

My experience is that it lessens, but might not go away completely. My main approach is to add something good to that first morning thought. Like today I'm having a cup of tea with a very dear friend. I keep a list of ten things to do every day, and often several items on that"to do" list are fun. So I remind myself of those--and then get to do them. I hope this helps.

I have a lumpectomy next Wednesday and radiation treatments after healing time. I am anxious to get this done and on to treatments. Thank you.

Yes, once you're through the difficult treatments, you'll just see the medical stuff, maintenance meds, side effects, as the new normal. You're going through the hardest stage, with all the anticipation right before surgery and treatments. At that stage, I felt like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day living the same day over and over and just wanting to move on. You will be on the other side of it all soon and life will go on. Now, I just see all the time spent on medical stuff like a job and just enjoy life with the rest of my time. I had a double mastectomy in 2013, recurrent breast cancer in 2020 with surgery, 37 radiation treatments, and now Kisqali and Letrozole for 4 years and indefinitely. Life goes on and I enjoy every day and don't feel stressed or depressed by the cancer. I even have a second unrelated slow-growing cancer and treatment has relieved symptoms so I'm thankful for treatment. Things will get better for sure and any meds or follow-up will just be the new normal like any other medical issue. Blessings to you, Zebra

Thank you❤️

Sometimes I think I am in denial, but I rarely think about it since I stopped taking those terrible AIs. it could be that I am older and don't count on being around longer than 10-15 years, with luck. Of course I had stage 1 and no lymph node positive result so my prognosis was good. Just try to live life taking care of your nutrition which was never mentioned to me by any oncologist. Yet nutrition could not be more important. Nutrition plus exercise are key to staying healthy or so I believe whole heartedly.

I start 21 rounds of radiation today. I’m nervous about my treatment because it is on my left breast so I will need to hold a deep breath several times during treatment as not to effect my heart Any advice

Your techs will walk you through it, it isn’t hard. They will tell you when to hold and when to breathe. Just like with a chest x ray. You will be amazed once you are into this, there is nothing to it. It took me longer to get undressed and dressed again than it did for the actual treatment.
Your techs are your allies in radiation. If there is anything you don’t understand or if you start to have side effects, tell the techs. They are a direct line to your radiation doctor, and in many cases have a better idea because they see the patients doing it every day, the doctor typically sees them once a week.
Will you come back and tell me how you are doing after?