Saturday 6 June 2020

Fear of recurrence and progression of cancer: BRiC's Collective Voice


The comments that last Sunday evening’s discussion generated, really helped to give us all an insight into the range of feelings that the fear of recurrence and progression of breast cancer creates. It was interesting to read comments from members who’ve had a primary breast cancer diagnosis, recurrence of a primary diagnosis and those who've had a secondary breast cancer diagnosis. Viewpoints from each part of the spectrum are so valuable.

Some members commented that although the fear of recurrence never goes away fully, the longer the period of time that’s elapsed from a primary breast cancer diagnosis, the frequency of how often our thoughts turn to recurrence and progression diminishes. However, it was also acknowledged that often our fear and anxiety creeps upon us without warning after periods of time when we’ve had respite from it. Within the group, it’s acknowledged that this is hard to manage.

Another recurring theme was that even when active treatment for primary breast cancer has finished, seemingly minor aches and pains can lead to the bias of our brains suggesting that we have secondaries growing somewhere in our bodies. Perhaps this is due in part to the loss of confidence in our previously healthy body prior to the development of breast cancer and the vulnerability this creates, along with uncertainty about our future?

There was a feeling also that our family and friends, who only see the exterior of us and who can’t possibly know how we feel inside, want to think of us as being ‘fine now', because they don’t possess the insight into recurrence that we do. This may also be due, in part, to active treatment regimes finishing resulting in our physical appearance generally looking well, with often no outward visible signs of the cancer treatment we endured.


Our predisposition to anxiety prior to our diagnosis of breast cancer was referred to several times and this may impact upon our ability to cope with our anxieties and fears generally, following a diagnosis of the disease.

There was a feeling of sadness too around some of us never fully being able to feel confident about our health again because we cannot totally eliminate the possibility of recurrence and/or development of secondaries.

The emotional value of this group was also really highlighted by those of us who feel that others close to us will never really fully understand our fears because the breast cancer diagnosis didn’t happen to them. As a result, there is a shared empathy that exists within the group, which confirms the life enhancing and affirming nature of our very supportive community. This was very gratefully acknowledged.

With around half of our members living with secondary breast cancer, the experience of those members adds another layer to the fears around recurrence, in relation to how long treatment regimes can achieve stability in the metastatic growth of the disease, which drugs will be accessible in second and subsequent lines of treatment and the emotional toll this takes on our ability to lead a good quality of life. Fears around death and dying are inextricably part of that.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused millions of people in the UK to feel anxious about their health; we, as a community of people within that, have had an extra layer of anxiety added to our already often-burdened mental wellbeing. Acknowledging that this is an extremely challenging time, which has led to many of us revisiting our fears of recurrence, is essential to help us build resilience. Acceptance that we are never quite the same person we were prior to our diagnosis of breast cancer is part of that, which does not mean to stay that we can’t feel strong, we just wear our strength and courage in a different way to those outside of the breast cancer community.

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