Emotional Distress: It ’s Inevitable When You Have Metastatic Breast Cancer

This has been a tough couple of months. I’m finding it a challenge to figure out how to have purpose and direction while living with an incurable disease. In fact, the biggest problem has been how to plan for the rest of my life when there might not be a “rest of my life.” For the most part, the cancer is under control. I have been fortunate to be asymptomatic, with only a few bouts of intolerable pain to deal with. The source of that pain was recently discovered on a CT scan, when the report showed that a fractured rib was healing. Until the doctor read that to me, I had no idea that I had fractured a rib. So beyond the few surprises that cancer brings in its wake, I truly feel that I am dealing with that aspect of my life pretty well. The emotional pain and suffering is what has been hindering my life’s fulfillment. It has been brought on by two main factors: One, I am struggling with what to do with my life and how to make plans when nothing is getting back to normal; there is no getting over this. And two, I am battling depression and the effects of prolonged emotional distress from dealing with treatment options and setbacks. The Shadow of Terminal Cancer Never Goes Away I am tough. Seriously, this isn’t just me saying it. My family and friends will cite this as one of my main character traits. But with cancer, toughness can be a liability. It means that I am used to plowing through my own issues. It means that I don’t scare easily, and when I do, you a...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Breast Cancer Source Type: blogs