Getting back to normal life

[Eric]

Hello everybody

I will be back to work on april 10th(i am a project manager and i have a lot of projects to manage and big decisions to take), presently i don't feel like i am ready to do that because i just got my clear result a week ago and i am always thinking about the odds of recurrence of 6% and other odds of getting a second cancer of X% and other odds of heart problems. How you guys do to get back to normal life and stop thinking about all this? Maybe it will go away by itself ?

Thank you

[nzsteve]

Hi Eric,

Ive been back at work 2 months now. I'd been on 'light hours' for a while (worked a around 150 hours from august last year until end of Jan!) so I was itching to get back.

At first it was hard, trying to be normall, and everyone else doing there best to treat me normally actually felt weird after so long not being normall. A couple of weeks in though and I was pretty much back to normall at work. Found it a really good way to keep my mind off of everything else. Keeping busy has been the key for me. I used to enjoy completly lazy weekends, doing absolutly nothing. I cant do that anymore - need to keep busy and do something. Doesnt matter what, anything so that Im not sitting down thinking!

There's probably still not been a day when I havent thought about TC, odds, reoccurance etc at some point or another. Ive got a follow up appointment in 3 weeks, and Im starting to get nervous again - think about it more, worry about every little ache and pain. After the check I guess I'll settle back down abit, maybe book a weekend away, and be normall for a couple of months until the next checkup looms

Best advice is to just jump back in. I think it will help you.

Steve

[dadmo]

Congratulations on starting dow the road to "normal". I don't know how long it takes but my family is almost 2 years into this and we still think of it every day. Maybe that's part of our (and your) new normal. If nothing else it's not as frightning as it used to be. Good luck at work and stay in touch. My wife and I are planning a trip to Aus and we are thinking of stopping in Yap and NZ on the way down.

[Scott]

As Lance Armstrong Foundation materials say, "Cancer may leave your body, but it never leaves your life." Try to let cancer focus you rather than stand in your way. You are a survivor!

[Don]

Not one day will pass that you won't think of your experience with TC... Even the smallest things in life seem to have more of a value and you tend to not take anything in life for granted... Even if something bad happens in life down the road , chances are it's not going to compare will the hell you have endured in the past months ,so I guess you can say the worst is over!!!!!! Best of luck to you in all that you do in life!!!! Don't be a stranger around here!!!!! DON

[johnseed]

getting back to normal

Hi Eric,

Cancer is going to be on your mind for years to come, but I do have two suggestions:

1) Keep in mind that your odds of staying clear are very good.

2) Start an excercise program. I began jogging after cancer and am in better physical shape than before. Feeling fit is a good way to remind yourself that you are healthy. In other words, making sure your body feels good helps your mind stay clear.

By the way, I am four years out of chemo and doing great.

JS