This video was so helpful for me, I have been trying to put into words why I have been feeling since I finished my radiation treatments. Everyone thinks I’m cured and everything should go back to normal, I’m so exhausted and sad, there is no guarantee the cancer is completely gone, I’m the one who has to live with that and every one else just goes on like nothing ever happened but I’m traumatized my body has changed so much and I am still dealing with the effects of this hormone blocker I have to take for 5 years. I’m so grateful I found your video, this has helped me to understand that others feel like me and it is NORMAL for what I have been through. Thank you!
Wow, this was so accurate! I finished chemotherapy 2 weeks ago and have been experiencing everything you spoke about. This was just so spot on and I'm so very grateful to have watched this and how it validated my emotional tidal wave, fear, insecurities, physical drain, how to get back to living and how daunting that feels, lack of knowing how to carry on as this new me, ect. To hear that all of this is normal and a common experience is so helpful, supportive, and alleviating. At this stage of post treatment this video is one of the most valuable resources I've come across. Thank you!!!
I am so glad this was helpful to you. Take good care of yourself as you move through this transition. Make sure you allow yourself to feel all the feelings. If you need help processing the emotions that come up, I have a podcast called "Born to Heal with Dr. Katie Deming". Episode 2 talks about processing emotions. WIshing you the best.
The “ new me “ scares me and makes me so sad” I don’t want the “ new me”, I want to be like everybody else. I don’t know how to properly describe this.
Katie thank you for this! I just found out half way through my protocol for non-hodgkins lymphoma that I'm in remission. I just continue to be numb to everything. This video was helpful.
exactly one year after a surgeon wrote "YES" with a sharpie on my left breast, I, too, am having a rough go of finding my new equilibrium. Even something as simple as asking my doctor, "when do I say I HAD breast cancer," and she said, "not until your last phase of treatment [hormone blockers] is over. That's when we call it 'cured.'" At 66yo, I've lived long enough to be well aware that we are in a new day of near-miraculous treatment, and I'm grateful to be alive. What I was completely unprepared for is the brutal side effects of hormone blocker treatment. I've read that as much as 50% of women opt off of this final stage long before their 5-10 year prescription plays out because the side effects are so miserable: migraines, fatigue, night sweats, nerve pain (carpal tunnel and sciatica), hair loss, weight gain, and the worst debilitating joint pain among them. No one adequately warned me that I'd be feeling like a 90-year-old since that surgery.
Hugs x I am so traumatised by the whole ordeal, there are no words that communicate it. Ps I gave up on the hormone misery sentance. I just told them I couldn't handle the side effects. There is a nhs online tool called predict, which gives you your odds for whatever treatment you have had. Hope it helps x
I am feeling that way also. I am feeling very exhausted mentally and emotionally after going through immunotherapy treatment for colon cancer which went quite successful and am now cancer free. I want to get back to normal and back to my career which I enjoy very much. As a man going through my own experience, I very much empathise with the many women out there going through their own experiences as well which is not easy for them either.
I got colon cancer at 27. It was in the early stages and was told let’s see how it goes. I’m now 28, with very bad bowel and drained, very. The uncertainty is a huge part of it due to my age!
Thank you for the video. You described what I'm feeling better than I could have. I am a year post treatment, but with early stage high risk of recurrence. Been off and on with Verzenio, but having bad liver toxicity. Finally off it for two weeks and now stuggling with this overwhelming depression. Don't know how to ask for help or who to ask. I don't want to ask family and friends bc they have already done so much.
I am glad this video resonated with you and I am sorry you are feeling depressed. I have transitioned out of radiation oncology and now have an integrative practice. If you think I can support you, you can check out my services at katiedeming.com.
I'm male and I've been treated for rectal cancer, so I know I don't fit the "demographic" for your page. I do think that the topic you discuss here is true for most cancer patients. For me I did chemo, then chemo radiation, then two surgeries, so the end of radiation wasn't the end of my treatments, but I did have many of the feelings you described when my surgeries were finished - the end of my active treatment. It's so true that in the midst of treatment you don't really have the time and/or energy to process what's been going on. You just do what you're told to do and hope in the end it produces a positive outcome. My treatments were during peak Covid times, so when I completed radiation, I did get to ring the bell, but I was alone. There were techs and nurses around, but no friends or family, so it made celebration a little more challenging. It's been almost a year since my final surgery and I feel like I'm still processing what I went through and thinking about how having cancer has affected me. I'd encourage you to share this video with other cancer related channels. I think it's very pertinent. You seem like a wonderful clinician with a true calling as a radiation oncologist. You certainly would make the radiation treatment process more kind, compassionate and even tolerable. I will share this video with the RU-vid channel "Survivor Jelena" - a channel dedicated to colorectal cancer patients. Cancer is cancer, regardless of where in your body it exists, so we all share similar challenges, fears, burdens and hopefully some joy as a result of the cancer experience.
Thank you so much for this comment. You are correct that this experience is common for all types of cancer. I do have content that is less specific to breast cancer on my podcast. It is called, "Born to Heal with Dr. Katie Deming". Check it out because there is a lot more content like this video on the podcast. Thank you for sharing this video with others. My goal is to help anyone who could use support during or after their experience with cancer. Wishing you the best.
Thank you, i thought i was doing something wrong, like whats wrong with me, why i am not happy. And I have put big burden on myself to change something and that aded more mental anguish. But I am not ready yet, not even to talk to some support group, maybe counselling
Hi. I am finished chemo radiation operation but still busy with herceptin treatment. For 2cweeks now I am tearful and sad . Normally I am a joyful person but I cannot stop feeling like this. I am in ci lift anti depression pills . I have no energy either. Is it normal and how long will I feel like this. I just want to cry all the time
