Dealing with emotions after being diagnosed
Finding out you have cancer can be a difficult time in your life. Women react differently, from accepting it to denying it. The first thing you have to do is accept it. That is easier said than done isn't it? More than likely, you will have to share the bad news with family and friends and that can be hard as well. I will try to take the emotions step by step, but please remember it is not easy for me to tell you how exactly you are going to handle this. Unfortunately, you will have to experience a lot on your own and see just how you do handle this.
NEWS.....
The first step is dealing with the news that was just broken to you. This is a BIG step to handle. How do you tell somebody how to handle this? I do not know if I handled it well or not. I have spoken with several other women that have gone through this. All reacted differently. The only thing I can do for you is tell you what some of us have experienced. If you happen to experience the same emotions then you will feel somewhat normal. One thing about being diagnosed with such a deadly disease is not feeling normal. Below I have listed a few feelings you may have right after getting the bad news. By all means, this is not in any order.
Denial- "No, they must have made a mistake, I don't have cancer." Man, have I heard a lot of women say that's exactly what they said when their doctors told them the news. Some of them went days, even weeks before accepting it.
Death - "I don't want to die." I haven't met a women yet that did not at least think this thought, much less say it to another person.
Uncertainties of relationships - Some women feel that their mates will not "love" or "accept" them any longer if they have breast cancer. This is normal, however, I can not tell that it will not happen. I have heard both sides. Some men are very strong and love their mates more and some can not handle the stress and unknown possibilites and leave or grow apart from their mates. If your relationship was in turmoil prior to this, you might reconcile, it might be the final straw that ends it. However your relationship turns out, please remember that there are others that will support you. You still have friends. You might have children, parents, siblings or other family members to rely on. And there are a number of support groups out there for breast cancer patients and survivors.
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