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Does good news ever feel like bad news?

Hi Ladies,

Does anyone else ever struggle to accept good news? In an odd way, I feel like I trust bad news but am weary of good news.  

If I get a good result, you'd think I would want to high five people in the street, but rather, I feel like I retreat into myself and almost get depressed about it processing this new information. It takes me a long time to work through it in my head. It triggers my anxiety and my depression, which is really hard with two little ones at home. 

Does anyone else feel this way ever?

I fully realise that good news is an absolute luxury to get and I am incredibly thankful for any good news that comes my way, it's just much more challenging than I thought it would be. Can anyone relate? Am I nuts?

xx Erin 

Comments

  • Hi @ErinB That's a good question and one I haven't seen raised before. That said, welcome to the emotional roller coaster that is ovarian cancer. 

    Each of us reacts differently to news, good or bad,  and I can attest to sometimes feeling just as you describe, even now going on four years since my diagnosis. I wonder sometimes if the natural condition is to be cynical....question the accuracy of anything we're told.....wondering, despite good news, when the next shoe will drop?  It's all about perspective though.  Once I learned to trust that my doctors wouldn't hold back and they would always be transparent, then I started to have more confidence in what was being shared. 

    What really helps me though is support from one of the social workers in our cancer center.  It wasn't until I had been out of chemo and NED for awhile (I did eventually recur btw) that I questioned why I wasn't as "high" as I thought perhaps I should be. So asked for an appointment with one of the social workers, more to find out what services would be available to support me emotionally if I needed some help. Lo and behold, she turned out to be that resource and I find it enormously helpful to have my monthly chats with her...just to make sure I stay in the right perspective and grounded.  If your cancer center has a social work department I highly recommend you look into their services. We so often feel we're showing weakness by not asking for help, but a big part of tapping in to personal resilience is awareness of the need to reach out and having the right resources in place that you can rely on.    So no, you're not nuts....just human.

    Do continue to reach out to this group too. And I hope you might join us our live chats on Tuesday evenings and daytime Thursdays.

    Fearless....

     
      
  • Thank you so much. You nailed what I was feeling with your comment of "waiting for the other shoe to drop". I'll try and join tonight. 

    Thank you.

    xx E
  • Hello @ErinB.. yes, that is a totally relatable situation... sometimes, it really does take a lot of time to process everything - good or bad - and I've found that even that changes overtime. As my once supporter says, you do you... sending the best vibes your way.