My Tapping Journey with HER2+Breast Cancer (Part 1)
When I was diagnosed with HER2 positive breast cancer 9 months ago, I wasn’t prepared for the long arduous journey ahead. Yet with EFT and creative interests, I’ve navigated chemotherapy, targeted therapy, surgery and radiation.
Last May, I went to the hospital for a checkup that changed my life.
That day when I went alone to the hospital, all I cared about was finding out why the lump in my breast was growing. I had a checkup done a year back and everything was normal. The doctor sounded very concerned after seeing me and sent me to a surgeon. They insisted that I get a FNAC asap.
I went for an FNAC that same afternoon.
Diagnostic Tests
FNAC without anesthesia is a painful process. I tapped on my finger tips to endure the pain. I used some EFT statements such as,
Even though it’s going to be painful, I trust my body to handle it.
Even though all this is very scary, I still accept myself and I will get through this.
The FNAC report came a week after and it said, suspicious of malignancy. That’s when I knew with absolute certainty that I had cancer.
While I was terribly scared of it, a part of me also felt relieved that finally whatever I was scared of, I was face to face with it.
I braced myself for the journey ahead & EFT helped me at every step of the way.
Even though I never thought that I could get this, a part of me knew that something was wrong.
Even though it’s going to be an ordeal and I don’t know how I’ll handle it, I love and accept myself
Even though my mind is going to WHY did I get this, I’d like to stay with the HOW to get over it, for now.
Next step was to search for a better facility to take this forward. I met with an Oncologist and was asked to go for mammogram, Ultra sound, Biopsy & many other tests.
Biopsy and the other tests were uncomfortable and some painful. Going through the multiple tests was an ordeal in itself.
During the pre-diagnosis phase, I used EFT to cope with the pain, anxiety and discomfort of the numerous diagnostic tests.
I was tapping on my fingertips before every test, especially during the PET Scan & MRI.
During MRI, I kept saying to myself, “You can do this. Just hold your position. Just a few more minutes”, and imagined tapping on my face points.
Diagnosis
The biopsy results came and the diagnosis was Invasive breast carcinoma with HER2 positive. It’s an aggressive form of cancer which can spread rapidly but the good news was that it would respond well to treatment.
I’ve divided the treatment journey into 3 parts: Chemotherapy, Surgery and Radiation and I’ll be elaborating on how tapping kept me sane during each phase of the treatment.
Tapping through Chemotherapy
My first chemo came right after the chemo-port surgery and it was intense. Not only was the pain debilitating, I was put on 4 drugs the very next day. It was Chemotherapy plus targeted therapy at once due to the aggressive nature of the ER positive Cancer.
I tapped on my fingertips throughout the first chemo and kept repeating the following statements. I used positive language in the second half of the setup statements.
Even though I am going through chemo, my body accepts this treatment to help eliminate the cancer cells .
I wholeheartedly embrace this treatment to allow my body to heal.
I trust my medical team to help me heal fully.
For the pain, I used variations of the setup:
Even though the pain is terrible, I deeply ne completely love ahead accept myself.
Even though the pain isn’t lessening, I ask my mind and body to be able to handle it with compassion.
The months that followed during each chemotherapy treatment felt nearly impossible to cope with.
Each day was a roller coaster ride.
The severity of the side effects was strongest in the first ten days. After that some symptoms reduce, while others linger. But not a single day after chemo was symptom free.
When the pain, tightness or other symptoms came up, I let them arise, I stayed with them in silence. I’d lie down and observe them. I would play the music in the background. I focus my attention on the severest physical problem at a time and then shift it to the music. This type of oscillation soothed me and helped in staying with the physical issue.
I coped with the symptoms by staying with them with tapping.
Even though this is intense, I am noticing it.
Even though I have tightness and my chest feels like it’ll explode, I love and accept myself.
Tapping helped in reducing the fear of the symptoms never going away.
Even though this feels like forever, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though it’s taking forever for these symptoms to leave and I’m frustrated, I accept how I feel.
Even though I’m frustrated that these symptoms don’t seem to leave, I choose to remind myself that this will not last forever.
Even though it’s very frustrating and overwhelming to experience these symptoms/pain/discomfort, I would like to remember that the symptoms/pain/discomfort will eventually lessen.
With the help of tapping I was able to stay more present and not give to fear and anxiety during the 4 months of chemotherapy.
When the tests were done again to check the progress, my tumour size was barely noticeable in the scans. However the margin rained and they were taken out during surgery.