Diagnosis Anniversary

JackieP Fri, 08/09/2017 - 14:57

My diagnosis date is coming up tomorrow and I've got lots of contrasting feelings about it. Its been four years now since the doctor gave me the horrible news and I can still remember exactly what he said and how I felt.

I feel like I've come a long way since then through all the treatment and recovery but at the same time I feel like Im still back there in that hospital room. The diagnosis date brings all the fear back and I don't seem to be able to get over it.

Is there a way you deal with it healthily?

lauratheexplorer Sat, 09/09/2017 - 17:46

It's not been so long for me so I don't have any real experience with anniversaries yet. I hope today hasn't been too painful, and you've been able to focus on the positive through all the negative memories xx

laura Mon, 11/09/2017 - 22:28

I find cancerversaries much like scans - quite stressful!

With each passing year, it's like I'm counting down the years of my life until I definitely have the all clear - when those five years are up. The anniversaries remind me that my life feels almost on hold. Really don't want to live like that! xx

bigheart555 Wed, 13/09/2017 - 09:58

I get this too hun.. I try not to think about it when it comes around. My husband remembered the first year and he took me out to dinner in the evening nice thought but I ended up crying at the table.

Don't think he'll be doing that again lol xxx

LindaH Thu, 09/08/2018 - 16:29

I have just had my first anniversary mammogram was clear and will see oncologist on 31st August just for my medication review.l didn't feel elated l just thought ok carry on until anniversary number two.As they say it's the club no one wants to join

Scott Tue, 20/08/2019 - 20:14

Until you have been in a doctors office for “the chat” it’s impossible to imagine how you will deal with subsequent anniversaries. I have actually found them perversely quite a positive experience because they mean that the treatments I have had in the previous year have worked.

On diagnosis day 24th March 2016 , statistically my chances of making it to the anniversary were no better than 50%.. So , recently passing the third year mark of the date, confirmed that I had fallen into the positive half of the coin toss.

Dates I do focus on in a meaningful, champagne cork popping kind of way ,are the bone marrow transplant event and the day I had my CAR T-Cell therapy which has put me into remission (31st July 2018) . I guess it’s being a bit selective with which dates are relevant to positive progress, I will always tend to focus on those notches on the calendar, rather than times I’d rather not recall with any kind of affection.