Dear Kristen,
How do you deal with the stress of having metastatic breast cancer (MBC)? I am always anxious and some days are overwhelming. The unknown of scan results is too much for me!
Dear Reader,
Let me just say, from one woman with MBC to another, that Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer is a freaking scary diagnosis and it’s no wonder you feel stressed and anxious. Staying calm, optimistic, and feeling safe now and then takes all the courage and resilience we can muster.
It calls on our inner heroines, the parts of us who feel the fear but do what’s needed anyway. I believe what we are called to do is nothing short of heroic.
So when you’re feeling scared or vulnerable or helpless in the face of diagnostic tests and cancer treatment, here are some ideas for things you can do. I have road-tested every one of them in the four years since my own diagnosis, and can tell you they work. Some days they’ll work better than others, and you might need to use a lot of them when “scanxiety” strikes, but I promise they helped me and I hope they help you too.