10 months now

[arthurpops]

Is it just me or do people genuinely feel like enough is enough? It's no longer a case of having strength to carry on rather than do i want to carry on fighting after 10 months of suffering

[RoyCastleHelpline Partner Ask the Nurse Roy Castle]

Hi arthurpops

So sorry you are feeling enough is enough and very understandable, it is a long time to suffer ad feel like that. I am sure you are not alone in this and hope you hear from others in the forum.

You may find this link on emotions and cancer from Macmillan support useful: macmillan.org.uk/cancer-inf...

It may be helpful to have a chat to your GP on how you feel and it is not unusual to feel a bit down or depressed on the cancer journey.

Please contact us if you would like to chat on our ask the nurse helpline 0800 358 7200 Monday to Thursday 0900-1700 and Friday 0900-1600, alternatively you can email us at [e-mail]

We offer one to one telephone support or have our online support groups via zoom, you can view and register for these through this link:roycastle.org/help-and-supp... or you can email our support coordinator Ellen Knapp at [e-mail]

Hope you have support from family and friends and you also find support on the forum.

Kind regards

Ask the nurse support

The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation

[Eglingham]

Morning,Sorry you are feeling like that.

It's not just you, I can't speak for other people but I myself have those days, 4yrs on I'm still here and the way I see it we are the lucky ones to have a treatment plan and the chance to extend our life however long that may be.

Are you going through treatment currently?

[JanetteR57]

Sorry to read you're feeling down.... I guess it depends... what do you have to live for? I say that provocatively as when we're in a low mood, the world can see a bleak place but if we just start noticing the little things - the bird that comes to feed in the garden, the sky that gets lighter, the sun keeps rising, the bulbs spring up at this time of year, then see if you can get outdoors and have a walk. physical activity even a gentle walk in nature can lift the mood.

Nobody can feel positive all the time that would be Pollyanna-ish - but I remain appreciative of life after my lung surgery and diagnosis in January 2011 despite some of the effects my health has gone through in recent years. Without that treatment, I wouldn't be here - the emergency doctor told me she wouldn't have sent me for the chest x-ray that saved my life when I went to A&E and the triage doctor sent me for it. A 7cm tumour and half my left lung were removed.

None of us know how long we'll live and not everyone is destined to live a long life - having lost my sister (40) in 2001, her daughter (33) in 2019, my older sister (66) in 2022 - none from cancer but all suddenly and unexpectedly from different causes. None had anything in place for their end of life as they (as most people of their ages) assumed they'd always get tomorrow.

When we're ill or recovering from treatment or going through treatment, it's important to look forward even if to the next hour or day - most of us don't think long term when we're in treatment.... but try to put something in the diary to look forward to. What that might be varies from person to person - for some it's afternoon tea with a friend, or a coffee in a coffee shop, or a bubble bath, or losing themselves in a film/boxed set/programme/music, cinema/theatre or simply a pint in a pub. We're all different and experience this differently.

Sometimes a good chat with a friend or the nurse led helplines can lift our mood..... starting to keep a gratitude list - of what has happened today or what you might like to do tomorrow can help - even a shop assistant smiling at you in the shop can lift our moods....

Do you have friends, or people you can ask to phone or visit? do you belong to a club or society? could you look online to see what's available in your area? I've always found distraction and helping others have helped me enormously over my time since diagnosis as it distracts my thoughts from my own situation. I also found reading books about others' experiences really inspiring - and a couple that really helped were 'anti-cancer a new way of life' by Dr Servan Schreiber and 'cancer is a word not a sentence' by Dr Rob Buckman - both changed my outlook and perspective.

Wishing you luck in finding a way to lift your mood. take care.

[olwman in reply to JanetteR57]

I really like your reply, heartfelt and thoughtfull. Owen

[PMint]

very normal to feel that way - it’s certainly not plain sailing with treatment- I have felt that way on several occasions but am still soldering on and try to find joy in small things

[Jando2021]

so sorry you are feeling this way. It can be a long road with lots of ups and downs. My husband was told he had 12 mnths to live March 2019, 5 years later and 5 years of chemotherapy and he’s still here. We go on holiday at least 4 times a year although our pace of life has changed dramatically, but as they say you are the lucky ones 🙏 easy to say but stay as positive as you can. Good luck 🤞 I find this site excellent for help and advice and to pick you up at times.

Take care x

[Fionalongside]

Personally, I'm inclined to think 'enough is enough' already. I'm already in daily constant pain because of other medical conditions I have and I've been really suffering this past 20 years. When I had finished radiotherapy, I decided then that I wouldn't be having modre treatment, no matter the outcome. My first check up scan showed the tumour had halved and that the radiation would continue to work for up to 2 years. Due to various things, I missed my last scan and follow up appointment but, as I explained to the oncologist, I didn't really need a scan because I wouldn't be having any more treatment. He agreed but talked me into having another scan in April just to see what is happening. As this will be approximately 2 years after my radiotherapy, I agreed to the scan and follow up. I haven't stopped smoking and I have a bit of a cough but nothing I'm worried about. I do also have the most annoying stress reaction though. I am plagued with a dry scalp and very dry hands, my palms occasionally actually crack and bleed, thats how dry they get. My scalp is horrendous unless I use E45 cream on my it every other day. I can't watch tv or listen to the radio without having cancer mentioned every damn day! That said, my family appear to have forgotten. My sister told me, when I was having radiotherapy that once my treatment was over I could get on with living my best life! After the treatment was over, she stuck with that and hardly mentions my cancer at all. I feel really alone about it all. I had a chat with my daughter yesterday about it all. She's brilliant but she has her own life. She's just embarking on a very important phase of her career and has moved away from home to do so. I'm ready proud of her. She's not going to have kids so I'm feeling like a spare part and also have all these health issues and I genuinely feel like I've had enough. So much so, in fact, that I just wish I could get a short lived prognosis. So, I don't think there's anything strange or wrong about feeling this way. We can't be the only ones, surely?

[olwman]

I empathise with your comments and feel similar to you. I wish you the best. Big hug Owen

[Lynx57]

Am on Selpercatinib since 11 months. A couple of times I did wonder... My face swells and/or peels constantly, eyes swell, hands swollen, peeling. Palms, fingers cracking. Dry scalp. Hair drops intermittently. Am on 120mg twice a day since around 3 months due to the side effects, however the scan this month am told showed a reduction in the tumour.

I like, since long before my diagnosis, the Servan-Schreiber book someone mentioned earlier. Just ordered Ian Gawler's book You Can Conquer Cancer, for everyday tips he said it contains when I asked him (he had his leg amputated decades back).

All the best. Take care.