How to Manage Fears of Breast Cancer Recurrence
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- Опубликовано: 19 июл 2024
- How can you cope with fears about breast cancer recurrence? What could trigger these fears? In this video, Dr. Jennifer Griggs explains everything you need to know about managing fears of breast cancer recurrence.
#breastcancer
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I was diagnosed in November 2020 with breast cancer in my left breast. I had a lumpectomy with 8 weeks of radiation. Within that time frame I had to have melanoma taking off my back. Taking a deep breath, I was ready to get myself back to normal and then went for my first yearly mammogram after my first diagnosis.I couldn't believe that they found breast cancer again in my right breast. With that brought chemo, losing my hair and a double mastectomy. I have been told that I am in remission! But my first three months check up is coming up and I am a bit uneasy. I am a believer in Jesus Christ and I know that He is with me and He is the great healer! My verse that I cling to is 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given me a spirit of fear, but He has given me the spirit of power, love and a sound mind. The Holy spirit can help us overcome fear! I hope that this will help someone else that maybe struggling. May God give you peace and healing in Jesus name.
Wishing you the best as you go for your followup. Sending power, love, and a sound mind!
Praying for you.❤
Wow, this made me melt down. I so relate. It was so hard getting my six month breast scan, I was so tense and quietly crying in the waiting room, and a lovely older woman simply said, “it’s going to be ok.” I wish I could hug her now, such a simple thing, that I won’t forget. 🌸
It's amazing how a few compassionate words from a stranger can provide comfort and hope during our most vulnerable times. Holding onto those simple, yet profound interactions can be a source of strength. It's these shared human moments that remind us we're not alone in our journeys. Thank you for being a part of the Yerbba community!
I just woke up from a sleepless night worrying about my cancer coming back and thought this would just be the normal list of platitudes on dealing with fear, but I was so wrong. These ideas helped me tremendously and I thank you.
We're so glad that the video offered you helpful ways to manage fears of recurrence, especially after such a tough night. Thank you for sharing your experience with the Yerbba community. Platitudes can be so annoying, can't they?
I use prayer and meditation on God’s word and promises to deal with fear.
Thank you for sharing with our community.
I like to write and read inspirational stories and books. Go for a walk with the dogs, go camping or call my best friend!
We truly appreciate you sharing your experience with the Yerbba community. Thanks for watching.
This has really helped! I, for whatever reason, just felt very anxious in the 3rd of 5 radiation treatments. I took it to my prayer group, and today I was myself again, just doing the countdown with 1 treatment left tomorrow. The fear of recurrence has popped in too, and I'm just grateful for the words of support from my friend group and from Yerba in normalizing these feelings. Thank you
We're so glad to hear that you found comfort and support in your prayer group and through your friends. It's completely normal to have moments of anxiety during treatment. Remember, you're not alone, and it's okay to lean on your support network. Wishing you strength and peace as you complete your last treatment.
Thank you so much for all your encouragement. I do find praying and reminding myself of God's faithfulness helps. Also having friends who are also going through breast cancer. One ahead of me and one just diagnosed helps. We understand each others fears. I have found your videos such a help although get frustrated at the lack of follow up in some areas in the UK. God bless you.
Thank you for your kind words and for sharing your journey with us. It's wonderful to hear that you find comfort in prayer and in the support of friends who truly understand what you're going through.
Good video! A therapist can be of immeasurable help in dealing with fear of the unknown and lack of control over the future.
Indeed. Seeing a therapist can be a tremendous help.
Thank you, for your helpful advice.
Thank you for watching and your support!
You are amazing Doctor. Thank you so much for this tips. I will share it. ❤
Thank you for watching and taking the time to write.
Thank you for your video. ❤️ I am experiencing fear now because I am on an Aromatase Inhibitor and my alkaline phosphatase is up. My first thought and worry is metastatic disease. However, the oncology team thinks it could be from the Femara. (I was stage 2 with clear pet scans before and after chemo) Now I worry that the drug that is supposed to be helping me may need to be changed. It’s easy as a cancer patient to assume the worst even when we shouldn’t.
You are absolutely right. Our brains are wired to think about the worst-case scenario. Your team may offer you a short period off the drug to see what happens to the alkaline phosphatase. If it's from the aromatase inhibitor, it will go back to normal. It is not the case that the AIs cause liver damage, just the lab abnormality. Remember that you're "allowed" to have other things not related to the cancer or its treatment, so checking in with your team about other possibilities would be prudent if the trial off of letrozole does not lead to a normalizing of the alkaline phosphatase.
@@yerbba
Thanks so much for your thoughts. ❤️They are also running labs for ionized calcium since my calcium was up just a little. My vitamin D was high so I’m taking it every other day now and I’m also told depending on these results of the calcium test, they will look further into hyperparathyroidism. Your right, it’s easy for us to automatically assume the worst but we also have to remind ourselves, we’re all going to have aches and pains that are not related to cancer. 😊
Hi doctor
Almost watched all of your videos and were of great help and support thank you
I just need to know what is the difference in prognosis between those who achieved complete pathological response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and those who didn't...thanks in advance
Great question. A complete pathologic response after chemotherapy (primary systemic, or neoadjuvant, chemotherapy) appear to have a better prognosis than those who do not. However, I have many patients who had an incomplete (partial) response who have not had a recurrence.
This lady is really really helpful.
I don't know your name. Nice lady but if you see this comment, thank you for all the things you said.
I had breast cancer and subsequent surgery and radiation in 2010 and I took tamoxetine till 2016 and I'm 14 years out now and I'm scared and my anniversary of the surgery is next month and I do have some weird things going on that I don't know what they are and you're right. It always immediately goes. He's had breast cancer? Thank you for your wisdom and understanding. And the
Explanations❤
Thank you for your message. We do see every single comment. It's understandable that you would have these feelings!
Two friends of mine did mastectomy, one the cancer came back in her liver and the other in her ovaries.
This must be so hard for them and for you. Thank you for coming here, and please keep coming back.
Hi DrJenny,can you also educate us sugar n cancer ..also is it advisable to liver for cancer survivors
It is hard to avoid sugar. Fruits and vegetables are natural sources of sugar and actually are protective against cancer. Added sugars have some downsides of course, such as unwanted weight gain and, in people who are diabetic, even natural sugars can cause problems with glucose control. There is no compelling evidence that added sugars lead to breast cancer (aside from the link between excess body weight and cancer) or breast cancer recurrence.
At my older age, 😂 I dont fear it, because its up to God. Iam not liking side affects, but its okay. ❤ it will eventually clear up. 🎉😸👍 thankyou for these nice videos! 😊❤
While dealing with side effects may be challenging, your belief that they will eventually subside is a testament to your resilience. We appreciate your kind words about our videos. Thank you for watching!
just would be grateful if you would advice how to reduce the anxiety of not knowing if the tumour has already spread or not.
In node negative patients (axillary node negative) what is the risk of distant metastasis already in early stage?
Even if the genomic test suggesting only a 7% risk of distant recurrence in 10 years time but what is the chance of this recurring beyond 10 years?
They are just putting my wife on Tamoxifen for 5 years and will have radiotherapy to the site.
I wonder what your opinion is on ctDNA test to reduce the anxiety and maybe detect early signs of recurrence (Signatera)?
Thanks for addressing this as tumour recurrence anxiety can be a problem long term.
There's no one tried and true way to address fears of recurrence. The actual risk of recurrence is not related to the fears of recurrence. That is, people with a 50% chance of the cancer coming back may have less fear of recurrence than people with a 10% chance. Our thought is that we've all lived with uncertainty in the past. Once we have kids, for example, we fear for their safety even when they are adults. Or we may have been in a car accident and had such fear. The same ways of talking to oneself can be useful with breast cancer recurrence fears. It also helps to know that your wife is doing all the things that have been offered to her. In terms of the recurrence after 10 years, the risk is indeed there but is much lower, particularly in someone who had a low risk to begin with. Detecting cancer early with circulating DNA testing does not improve people's outcomes. The cancer will be treatable when it's actually causing symptoms. When we detect and treat cancer so early we can't even see it, we are just prolonging the time that someone is on treatment. It's counterintuitive because we hear all the time that early detection leads to a higher chance of cure. But that is for early stage breast cancer, not recurrent (advanced) breast cancer. Also, a negative ctDNA test does not actually provide reassurance to people because they just wonder what the next test will show. There's no real way to "test out" fears of recurrence. We wish there were.
@@yerbba Dear Dr Griggs, being a head and neck surgeon myself doesnt necessarily help with recurrence anxiety. However, reading your reply is somehow reassuring.
What I don't fully understand and would be grateful to hear your thoughts is the true meaning of the Genomic test (Prosigna). Prosigna was originally tested on post-menopausal women but now available and validated for pre-menopausal patients. They test 50 genes of the tumour, of the largest focus, they have not sent the other two smaller foci for genomic testing. Histologically they were all grade 2. I don't quite understand what 7% risk of recurrence over 10 years means and how reliable that is.
Does this mean if the tumour or the tumours are left untreated and in situ for 10 years, the chance of the tumour to metastasize is 7% ?
When does the 10 year clock start ticking as probably the tumour has been there for a while prior to diagnosis (Interval Cancer)? She had 3 foci and loads of surrounding DCIS, the DCIS part has been narrowly excised, hence the need for post mastectomy RT.
What the Prosigna genomic test has said is that the specimen they have tested was luminal A and not chemo sensitive, hence endocrine therapy (tamoxifen) recommended. Not sure about the other 2 foci but we were told there is no need to test the other two as they will likely be the same?!
Many thanks for your good work.
As a guru I'm following says, 'you are not always in fear, so when you're not in fear just stay like tbat' lol
Hoping that is helpful for you and for others here in our community.
Am 35 yrs old, er,pr posetive,her2 negative, grade 3,ki 67 60%, 1 lymphnode posetive,completed 6 chemo and 20 radiation..i want to know recurrence possibility... Expect your reply...
Thank you for writing with your story and the treatment you've received. It's hard to estimate the likelihood of recurrence without knowing everything about your tumor. It is, however, more likely than not that you will remain disease-free for many years if not indefinitely. Endocrine therapy will decrease the risk of recurrence even more than the chemotherapy you received. If you continue to have ovarian function, you may be offered ovarian suppression with injections or through removal of the ovaries. Wishing you all the best.
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Thanks for watching!
I pray to God and read scriptures that remind me that Jesus is with me always. Perfect love (God’s love) casts out fear.
@debtreat7382
Do you have a favorite scripture?
Amen
My favorite scriptures
Psalm 91
Isaiah 41:10
@@jessicaphillips8366
Isaiah 41:10 is a favorite of mine also. Jeremiah 29:11 is another one of my favorites. I will check out Psalm 91.
Have a good day! ❤️
@@amya9597 This is one of my favorites: Romans 8:38-39, ESV For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.