[CANCER] It’s #Scanxiety Time Again #BreastCancer

drbexl
432
I'm going to have to get used to this, as this will be a regular thing, every 3-6 months depending upon how often the oncologist thinks he needs to take a look at my internal workings! This scan feels SUPER HUGE as it will determine whether my first line of treatment has worked - has the tumour on my spine disappeared (there will always be scarring) with the radiotherapy and the chemotherapy, and can we…
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[CANCER] Undergoing a full body scan for Spinal Metastatic Breast Cancer

drbexl
800
At the base of my post the other day, I said that I will definitely be having stereotactic radiotherapy, assuming that a full body scan confirms the size of my tumour, and that there are non anywhere else (they have done a lot of scans, so I don't think they'll be expecting to find anything new) .... this is essentially a baseline scan, and then I think will be repeated around every 3 months, although…
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[CANCER] Thinking in Metaphors … and Occupational Health

drbexl
489
The other day I read Illness as Metaphor by Susan Sontag, and was interested at how the idea of things 'being a cancer on society', etc is a relatively new thing, and surrounds the fact that there is still so much we don't understand about it ... and that in the past tuberculosis held largely the same place in 'fear'. At the time of writing 'Illness as Metaphor' (late 1970s) for most people, 'cancer=death', whilst 10…
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[CANCER] Semi-Phew: 90% Good Test Results

drbexl
636
It's been a long few weeks - and it's not quite over yet! Yesterday I struggled to get out of bed - combination of fatigue, scanxiety, emotional exhaustion and a cold (first one since before diagnosis, because I've been staying out of people's way!), although I did make it to Inspire Church's Beer & Carols, and onto Life Church's carol service, although the opening cheerful welcome, and first carol 'Joy to the World' just made…
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[CANCER] A Series of Appointments: More Scanxiety with Spinal Scans #BreastCancer #YouMeBigC

drbexl
932
I thought once radiotherapy finished, it would feel like I was off the appointment treadmill, but they just seem to keep coming. The regular ones are every 28 days at the GP for a Zoladex injection (and any other concerns), intermittent ones with the surgeon, oncologist, ovarian suppression, and currently ongoing with counsellor and exercise rehab! Is that another lump? Last Monday (5th November), I went to the hospital to get results from an MRI…
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