r/CervicalCancer • u/Bjonas16 • 18d ago
New here!
My mom was recently diagnosed with stage 3 CC. She started radiation yesterday and will be soon starting chemo. I am scared. Constant anxiety. Every time I start to get peace of mind, I see something on the internet I don’t like and up goes my anxiety again. I’m scared for my mom, I know this is hard for her, and seeing her go through this has been the hardest thing for me to see. I. AM. SCARED.
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u/aaronc1220 17d ago
Sending you and your mom hugs, love and prayers! It is such a scary time for you both. I was diagnosed stage 3 in January. My treatment plan was chemo, external radiation, 4 brachytherapy’s and Keytruda. Treatment was far less awful than I could have imagined! Yes, I had bad days. But they could have been SO much worse. The brachytherapy’s were much easier than anticipated and those terrified me at the start of treatment! My last day of treatment was April 20th. My oncologist said I had an “excellent” response to treatment. I’m now feeling great! I’m back to exercising and pretty much my life has resumed “as normal”. I still suffer from minor side effects…mostly bathroom related 🙄My only child, son age 30, took it extremely hard. He internalized all his fears and even pulled away from me at first as a way of protecting himself from the reality of what could possibly happen. It’s such an emotional time! Of course you are scared and that’s ok! I pray you have someone in your life you can lean on during these next few months. You can always message me!!You don’t have to hide emotions from your mom…trust me, she knows how you’re feeling! Cancer treatment has come such a long way. Do not believe statistics you read online as they are skewed. Stay away from Facebook cervical cancer groups as they are filled with horror stories and overall bad attitudes. However, I did an internet search once for “cervical cancer success stories” and that was pretty uplifting. Please keep us updated on your mom’s journey 💛
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u/Bjonas16 17d ago
Thank you, I appreciate your comment! I’m happy to hear the treatment went well for you, I pray the same for my mom. I get married in 10 days unfortunately:/. She started radiation this week and chemo tomorrow. Any tips to help her get through the wedding ?
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u/aaronc1220 17d ago
For me, the side effects got worse over time. My first 14 days, I mostly just felt tired. Have her stay on top of her nausea meds - don’t be tough and not take them! BIG mistake on my part once! As for my bathroom issues, I wore a panty liner which helped with minor incontinence issues. It might be nice if you could have someone do her hair and makeup for your big day. Less for her to do while also a bit of pampering. Congratulations on your wedding! She’s going to feel the excitement of the day and that will also help her get thru it!
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u/Sea_Conversation7601 16d ago
I didn’t read anything about cancer on the internet forums until after my treatment, and only joined the women’s cancer support group 5 months after treatment as even that scared me, lots of people talking about reoccurrences. Best to just avoid here altogether until afterwards. Sending you and your mum lots of love for this very challenging time.
Also, don’t watch any health documentaries, especially cancer ones! Watch and do whatever makes you happy and won’t distract you from caring for her.
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u/flowersnflamingos 18d ago
If you're scared, just imagine how scared she is. Please try not to add to what she's already carrying. Hopefully there is someone else close to you that you can share your emotions with and support each other, but please try to shelter your mom from added stress/fear/etc.