You are reacting normally to an abnormal situation. I too become anxious, I went through all the trials, had the ops the chemo then day drew near when this was to be part of my past a day that I had only hoped for. When the unatainable was suddenly in reach I became anious that it would be 'stolen' at the last moment.

CC I go fishing and fight some good fish during the fight I am not concerned about losing the fish. It is when I get it to the side of the boat that I become nervous that I might lose it.

Hope this makes sense it is 1 am here at the moment lol

G8

bizarrely enough I think having chemo creates a sense of security, such that whilst you are having chemo you are generally being well looked after; are having treatment to fight the cancer, then all of a sudden it's over, no medical staff constantly checking you, no chemo to fight the cancer you are back into the big bad wide world fending for yourself after being looked after for a year. So it's not surprising that you are all of a sudden feeling nervous

Will we ever feel like we did before? NO!! but you can't let it consume you. I just take it one day at a time knowing no one knows what tomorrow will bring. I do not have any faith in Cat Scdans anymore. I had noe about 3 months into Chemo nothing one after chemo nothing. The only way they found the new cancer was from colonoscopy. My question to them is why give the cat scan? Is their something better? I don't know and I don't think they know.

Sunny, I am with Kaiser HMO (big on the west coast) and they don't do any kind of scan post chemo unless there is a real reason for it (possibly to back up something they think is there -or whatever) They say they are usually not necessary and don't tell the real picture. So unless something changes I will not be getting any kind of scan.

Yes, this is a totally normal reaction. I'm over a year out from my last chemo and I still get worried, anxious... you name it. If I feel tired one day, I get stressed thinking that the cancer is back. That feeling never goes away and how can it? Look what we've been through! There was life before chemo, now there is life after chemo. It's a brand new life and we are different people after an experience like this. But the good thing is that it's all totally normal to feel this way. If you don't get those feelings, then I would get worried!

Hang in there and stay positive!

capecod,

What you're feeling is something we've all felt (or still going through) and is nothing to be alarmed about. I still get anxious and nervous for my CT scans because you just never know the outcome.

Take care,
Dale

Totally normal... I agree with Mark and Dale who have both written so eloquently and honestly on this topic here and in the past. I recall telling my doctor. " Funny, scared to start treatment and now scared to end it..." he nodded in agreement.

Gg mentioned her HMO not giving scans afterward as their protocol and that is not the case with my doctor, and I think it is one of those things.. how much is too much? But, my understanding is that the first 2 years is a common time to find metastatic disease and then 5 years of clean scans-- they consider your risks the same as the rest of the population. The recurrence back in the colon is rare unless they missed something, the most common is in Lung and Liver and that can often be picked up with a CT/PET scan.
Nothing is 100 percent accurate. But, moments or even days of anxiety is normal. Glad to see you on the posts..
Sorry for being so long winded, I guess I relate to this thread!

You guys are wonderful. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I'm still a bit jittery but the feedback helps me keep it in perspective.

Totally Normal! I am having a PET and a CT scan today and I am a nervous wreck. I still have two more cycles of chemo which gives me some security, but you still can't help but worry about the outcome of things. I don;t think life will ever be "normal" in that aspect for me. I just take it one day at a time.

I personally don't have cancer (well, not that I'm aware of anyway), it's my mate who has recurring colon cancer. But I must say that coming here is such an inspiration to me, you are all so positive and insightful. Sometimes being me is tough, I don't know what to say, I'm constantly asking him how he feels, I have to stop doing that, I can see that I'm irritating him. I feel totally helpless to help him. My heart goes out to all who suffer disease and any other pain. Thanks for all of your posts, it's a help to me and a blessing.

I couldn't think of anything that would be more normal. My husband and I both worried after his surgery, it's almost impossible not to. I truly believe that nasty little word 'Cancer' is a threat to all of us and I would venture to say we all worry about it in some way or another.