Having a cancer diagnosis and then having treatment is a daunting thing; it changes your life, often forever!
So the thought of returning to normal after treatment has ended is something that we all hope will come soon!
However, sometimes we have to find a new "normal" as its often impossible to return to the way of life we had before.
Whether that is because of physical reasons or psychological ones, it is often hard for us to come to terms with those changes.
Very often, when we are going through treatment we are looked after by a team of people who we feel connected to and we know that if something crops up or we need to talk to someone then we can contact them. But when treatment ends, we can feel that we are cast adrift and left to cope on our own.
The number of people surviving cancer is increasing but very often there is little or no long term support for those of us that have health problems as a result of the treatment.
A recent study has shown that around 3 out of 4 patients are not given enough information on coping with long-term effects of the
illness.
According to the Dept. of Health, a national survey of cancer survivors indicated about a quarter of people were
feeling isolated after being treated for cancer, and almost 30% said they had many issues that were not being addressed,
including fears about their cancer spreading.
Currently about 1.8m people in England alone, are being or have been treated for cancer - a
figure that is set to rise to 3.4m by 2030.
There needs to be more support there for patients who have finished treatment but are often still not able to return to "normal" - many of us will be left with long term problems that are often left ignored or we just put up with them. This can then lead to stress and depression, especially when close family members and friends fail to understand the long term emotional and psychological effects.
Being told that you "must be glad its all over" or "you are looking a lot better" (when you actually feel really ill!!!) or even worse, "what are you moaning about, you havn't got cancer anymore" are really not helpful. Neither is going to see your GP and being given the brush off and a prescription for anti depressants!!!
So, we struggle on, trying our best to see some positives in the fact that we no longer have cancer! We try to pick up the pieces of our life and hope that one day we can "get back to normal"
Whatever "normal" is!!
Wednesday 24 April 2013
Thursday 11 April 2013
Happy Birthday to us!
Two years ago today, WCSUK was created. It's our 2nd Birthday today!
We started out as an online support group for women who were going through, or had gone through womb cancer. Our numbers slowly grew and as they did we began to realise that a lot of the women who were joining us had been unaware of womb cancer before they were diagnosed.
Unlike breast, cervical and ovarian cancer, that gets a lot of publicity and awareness campaigns, womb cancer is not very well known about. So we decided that alongside the support aspect of what we do, that we should also help to raise awareness of a cancer that, according to the most up to date statistics, around 9,000 women are diagnosed with each year and about 1,900 actually die of.
So, following in the lead of our US peach sisters from http://www.uterinecancerawareness.org/, we declared September Womb Cancer Awareness Month and in Sept of 2011, we held a month long campaign on Facebook to get people to turn their profile pics peach.
We did the same again in 2012 and had a huge response from our followers and their friends. It was great to log on each day and see peach themed or peach coloured pics everywhere.
We can only do so much, as we are not a charity or a registered organisation. We are just a bunch of dedicated womb cancer fighters and survivors who want to make a difference.
We now have over 640 likers on our FB page; not all of them are womb cancer warriors, some are relatives and friends of women who are fighting and others are supporters of what we do. But they all have a role to play in helping us spread the word about womb cancer.
And you can play a part in that aswell. If you're reading this blog post , then please share it. Help us reach out to other women who may be going through womb cancer.
They may be alone and scared just like I was 3+ years ago. But they don't have to be anymore.
Our motto is "No one fights alone!"
We started out as an online support group for women who were going through, or had gone through womb cancer. Our numbers slowly grew and as they did we began to realise that a lot of the women who were joining us had been unaware of womb cancer before they were diagnosed.
Unlike breast, cervical and ovarian cancer, that gets a lot of publicity and awareness campaigns, womb cancer is not very well known about. So we decided that alongside the support aspect of what we do, that we should also help to raise awareness of a cancer that, according to the most up to date statistics, around 9,000 women are diagnosed with each year and about 1,900 actually die of.
So, following in the lead of our US peach sisters from http://www.uterinecancerawareness.org/, we declared September Womb Cancer Awareness Month and in Sept of 2011, we held a month long campaign on Facebook to get people to turn their profile pics peach.
We did the same again in 2012 and had a huge response from our followers and their friends. It was great to log on each day and see peach themed or peach coloured pics everywhere.
We can only do so much, as we are not a charity or a registered organisation. We are just a bunch of dedicated womb cancer fighters and survivors who want to make a difference.
We now have over 640 likers on our FB page; not all of them are womb cancer warriors, some are relatives and friends of women who are fighting and others are supporters of what we do. But they all have a role to play in helping us spread the word about womb cancer.
And you can play a part in that aswell. If you're reading this blog post , then please share it. Help us reach out to other women who may be going through womb cancer.
They may be alone and scared just like I was 3+ years ago. But they don't have to be anymore.
Our motto is "No one fights alone!"
Saturday 6 April 2013
A survivors story by H.E
Continuing on with our guest blogs for September's awareness campaign, here is another survivor's story, this time from one of our peach sister's in the US.
I am now 37 years old. I was diagnosed and treated for Uterine Cancer when I was 35.
For many years I had problems with irregular menstrual cycles. This was nothing new. What was new and got me calling my Dr was when after intercourse I was having bleeding.
I was having bad cramping before my period would start. Pain during intercourse. These were things I was just dealing with. I was afraid what the Dr may say.
My husband and I wanted children and were not having any luck. We found out later the cancer was the cause. When I did go to the Dr. I was told I had polyps and that would fix the problems of bleeding after intercourse and pain during.
I went to a OB/GYN and there was an exam. What was found was actually tissue masses. The tissue masses were removed and sent for testing. The samples were tested several times before the results were sent to the Dr. I then found out I had cancer.
My cancer was caught at stage one Grade one which is the lowest grade. This was a good thing. My treatment was a hysterectomy. I am continuing to see my Dr on a regular basis and the cancer has not returned.
I had a friend that was diagnosed with Uterine Cancer that was in stage 4 about the same time. Her cancer was misdiagnosed. She had cervical cancer and has since passed away.
She was the reason I went to see my Dr. She is the reason I am able to share my story and in some ways her story as well and bring awareness.
.
I am now 37 years old. I was diagnosed and treated for Uterine Cancer when I was 35.
For many years I had problems with irregular menstrual cycles. This was nothing new. What was new and got me calling my Dr was when after intercourse I was having bleeding.
I was having bad cramping before my period would start. Pain during intercourse. These were things I was just dealing with. I was afraid what the Dr may say.
My husband and I wanted children and were not having any luck. We found out later the cancer was the cause. When I did go to the Dr. I was told I had polyps and that would fix the problems of bleeding after intercourse and pain during.
I went to a OB/GYN and there was an exam. What was found was actually tissue masses. The tissue masses were removed and sent for testing. The samples were tested several times before the results were sent to the Dr. I then found out I had cancer.
My cancer was caught at stage one Grade one which is the lowest grade. This was a good thing. My treatment was a hysterectomy. I am continuing to see my Dr on a regular basis and the cancer has not returned.
I had a friend that was diagnosed with Uterine Cancer that was in stage 4 about the same time. Her cancer was misdiagnosed. She had cervical cancer and has since passed away.
She was the reason I went to see my Dr. She is the reason I am able to share my story and in some ways her story as well and bring awareness.
.
If you would like to share your story and help raise awareness then please contact us at wombcancersupportuk@hotmail.co.uk
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