Hi all. I finished treatment (chemo after surgery) for Stage 3 colon cancer about 10 months ago. My first couple of surveillance scans have been clear, which is amazing and I know I should be relieved. But honestly? The fear of recurrence (FoR) feels like it’s constantly stalking me. Every little ache, pain, cough, weird feeling sends my anxiety into overdrive, convinced this is it. It’s exhausting and feels like it’s stealing the ‘second chance’ I supposedly have. Does this intense level of fear ever get better? How do you live alongside this uncertainty without letting it take over?
The 2-week rule sounds interesting. My brain immediately goes “BUT WHAT IF IT’S TOO LATE IN 2 WEEKS?!” – which probably shows how high my anxiety is! But I can see how it could filter out the everyday noise. Maybe worth trying to adapt. Thanks Michael.
Totally get that reaction! It took practice. Sometimes I’d ‘negotiate’ - “Okay brain, we’ll check in on this specific pain every day for 3 days. If it’s worse, we call. If same/better, we wait.” Baby steps!