I was recently diagnosed with cc last week, I have my Pet CT 6/1 and Gyno Oncologist appt 6/3, I should hear my stage and treatment plans then. I dread telling my friends and family and am thinking of waiting until I know what’s happening first. I don’t want them to be worry too, it’s just so agonizing not knowing and I know they will be crazy upset waiting to hear the outcome too.
Did you all tell loved ones before or after you knew your prognosis.
Also if you kept on working was it better to tell co-workers what type of cancer you had or just that you had “cancer” or “serious illness”. I kind of feel this is a more personal type of cancer and I don’t want everyone at work to know (but will tell HR folks of course), or is it better to just lay it all out there. I work for a smaller company around 50 employees, Just so hard to navigate it all. Thank you in advance.
I agonised about breaking the news to friends, family and colleagues. Health professionals apart, the only person who knew from the start was my husband. Thereafter I gave out edited information on a need to know basis because I didn’t want to answer questions or be met with reactions that might cause me stress - might sound selfish but I felt I would cope better that way and besides I was prone to breaking down at the time and I didn’t want people to see me like that. I waited until I knew my treatment plan before I started to tell others. I told my sister everything but my Mum, who was very frail now RIP, just thought I was having some gynae investigations that required me to rest for a while. Thereafter I told friends and other family as and when a suitable opportunity arose.
I was in full time employment at the time. I told my manager pretty much everything including the type of cancer I had but asked her to just tell my colleagues I was having a hysterectomy for a gynae issue. I was planning to get back to work within a few weeks and not say any more but as it turned out I need chemo-radio which meant more time off work and my colleagues started to ask questions so then I said it was a ‘gynae cancer’.
After I’d completed my treatment I told everyone it was cervical cancer because I became passionate about raising awareness of the importance of cervical screening.
Hi,
Its a very personal issue and there’s no right or wrong. Cervical cancer was first mentioned when i went to GP after having a discharge for 3 to 4 weeks. She examined me and thought it might be and i was referred for colposcopy. After going to doctor i told my boss (a man) and my team members, i also told my sisters, i did not yell my children at this point. When i went for the colposcopy the doctor said my cervix looked totally normal she carried out a swab test and this showed no abnormal cells she did see a grape sized lesion at entrance to womb she said it looked like a fibroid. A biopsy was taken. I then told my boss and sisters what the doctor had said and everyone thought including myself that it was a fibroid. However when i went back 2 weeks later the biopsy confirmed adenocarcinoma cervical cancer. It was at this point that I told my adult children. I then had scans etc and was staged at 2b. Looking back i wish I had waited until the biopsy had been confirmed.
Not too long to wait until your scans then youll know what you are dealing with.
Thank you @Jazza for sharing your experience. Only my husband knows, I do want to tell my closest friends and mom, but I just don’t know enough yet. I don’t have kids, I have a pup, and I still haven’t told him either😢. Well Im sure in 2 weeks they will be hearing about this, as well as planning what to do with my work. I work from home so that’s at least much more doable than having to go in to the office, plus Covid cases here are up again. Once I get though treatment, I feel I can share that I had CC, but I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for me in the meantime, I am still me and not cc now, just see me, not my disease, I am the same person they knew before my diagnosis. Maybe that’s also why it’ll be tough telling people. Boy this really tests you both physically, mentally and emotionally. Can’t wait to get on the other side after treatment, one day at a time I’ll get there, the meantime, deep breaths.
Thank you @AMF, yes, it’s more of a sensitive issue when involving lady parts. Like you said, maybe best to know more than have down graded comments that end up being worse news, I’d rather take that punch in the gut then have hope that it isn’t cc, only to find out it is, that’s tough to digest, when you just felt so relived it wasn’t, why doesn’t the reverse ever happen, you have cc, actually, no you don’t. That’s what I was hoping to hear when I got the results of the biopsy, since the dr. told me I had cc right after taking the biopsy without confirmation.
