Giving thought to the question '.....can anything ever really prepare us for how the mind works when diagnosed with cancer' I am simply going to quote the response I posted earlier today on the Cancer Research UK forum:
"My thoughts on a subject very pertinent to what's going on in my head at the moment, and whilst realising that I am in danger of overstating the obvious, are that nobody really knows how it will affect one mind as opposed to the next. With so little personal experience, in view of the relatively short time I have been in this situation, I find that the main benefit gleaned from reading and hearing about the experiences of others in a similar situation is realising that, no matter for what all the leaflets and professional advice prepare you, there will always be the gut wrenching extraordinary and unexpected occurrences along any individual journey. Knowing that you are not alone in this general respect serves to lessen the anxiety caused by such eventualities regardless of whether or not they are positive or negative.
The recounting of the emotional highs and lows experienced by Shents and others endorses my current feelings that, paradoxically, since learning about what I now know to be my incurable oesophageal cancer I appear to have been on an artifical high; taking everything in my stride, staying strong for those dear to me and, to an uncharacteristic OTT degree, living life to the full. A deliberate coping strategy or my mind taking control to mask out the reality? My nearest and dearest and I are aware that I may well need some counselling to address that question in order to prevent me crashing back down to earth sooner or later. Also in this respect my wife feels it may be useful talking to someone outside the cancer zone.
Approaching my possible participation on a trial and needing to stay on an even keel to face it I fear that I am rapidly becoming overwhelmed by the information overload and all these peripheral considerations. The situation is complicated by the fact that though still able to take advantage of a healthy appetite I am finding it increasingly difficult to actually talk: A bit of a handicap when contemplating talking therapies."
Answers on a post card please...............
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