Tips for coping with bad medical news?

[Anonymous]

op - as someone else said, the time after diagnosis before The Plan, is the absolute worst. Unless you've been given a terminal diagnosis with no options (in which case I am so sorry), there will be a Plan and the Plan will be to either cure you or extend your life indefinitely (a huge number of cancers even at advanced stage are able to be controlled for a long time, and there are SO MANY advances. Once you get a Plan, you will feel better so try to get that asap. Then you will be 'in action'. The landscape of cancer is changing for the better literally every single day bc of targeted immunotherapies.
In the meantime, get ye some xanax. you need it right now, dont be a hero.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:op - as someone else said, the time after diagnosis before The Plan, is the absolute worst. Unless you've been given a terminal diagnosis with no options (in which case I am so sorry), there will be a Plan and the Plan will be to either cure you or extend your life indefinitely (a huge number of cancers even at advanced stage are able to be controlled for a long time, and there are SO MANY advances. Once you get a Plan, you will feel better so try to get that asap. Then you will be 'in action'. The landscape of cancer is changing for the better literally every single day bc of targeted immunotherapies.
In the meantime, get ye some xanax. you need it right now, dont be a hero.

Stage 3 cancer survivor here, and +100 to all of this. Especially that last line. Xanax got me through the three weeks of diagnosis to start of treatment. Better living through pharmacology, I like to say.

[Anonymous]

Take it day by day; don't think too far ahead. You really do not know what the future will be.

[Anonymous]

do what you can, one day at a time. let people in if you trust them but it’s also okay to process this on your own.

Maybe this is weird: I always found it comforting to learn as much as I can about my condition so that I can manage my expectations. I’m more of a realist and feel like knowing more helps diffuse the shock and fear (and it’s a way of feeling more in control even if it’s not actually the case).

Hope you find good care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Take it day by day; don't think too far ahead. You really do not know what the future will be.

If you can, try this. Easier said than done I know. I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in my early 40s and had a 7-year-old DD. Next month, it will be 20 years since that diagnosis, something I was pretty sure I’d never get to.

As to the fight verbiage, I’m not a fan. When you have cancer, it’s not a fair fight, and the win/lose metaphor can just make you feel defeated or that you didn’t try hard enough.

Good luck to you, OP. Watch some trashy TV, buy a book you’ve been looking forward to reading, have a glass of your favorite beverage, just something to keep your mind off things, even for 15 minutes.