Coping with Fear of Recurrence

You have already been through treatment and come out on the other side. Now you're dealing with possible or proven breast cancer recurrence or metastatic disease. You may be worried about what tests and treatments you need, whether the current treatment is working, or what therapies you might need in the future. Just because you've "been there and done that" doesn't mean that it's any easier to cope with these fears again. But at least you've learned from what you dealt with the first time.

The idea of breast cancer returning might bring up your deepest fears. Learning to live with the fear of breast cancer coming back and spreading is one of the biggest challenges you may face as you move forward and try to get on with your life. This is normal. Don't let the discussion of fear in this section feed into fears that you might have right now. Understand that you are not alone. We'll try to help you manage the fear, instead of letting it manage you.

A diagnosis of recurrence is not hopeless. Far from it. Many women who develop a recurrence after treatment for breast cancer continue to live long, productive lives. There are so many new weapons to fight and beat the disease. But you may find that you need to fight both the disease and the FEAR of the disease.