Stage 4 Cancer

I have a blog that is geared toward metastatic cancer called www.MiracleSurvivors.com. I am a stage IV breast cancer survivor, author and blogger who is doing very well after almost four years after my recurrence. There is hope, and I share stories of other people who beat the odds, as well as things to do to improve your outcome. It's a nice community, and I'd love you to join us! Thank you for reaching out during a very scary time. It sounds like you're already being proactive about getting some support. Because I don't know the particulars of your situation, I am going to give you some general responses. If you want to clarify, please reply to this answer and I'll try to get more specific. First of all, it is helpful to feel as though you have received all the information that you need about your diagnosis and treatment. It may be useful to make a list of what you know now and what you feel like you want or need to know. Once you have the facts, then you can do your planning and decision making with better information. Once you have the facts, then it's time to assess your emotional support. Do you have friends and family who can listen to your real feelings, especially fear or frustration? Or do you feel like you need to shelter/protect friends and family from your struggle. If you feel like you need to shelter your loved ones, it is even more important to get external support. It sounds as though the communities you're finding through the web and through the cancer center aren't quite meeting your needs. If that's the case, it might be time to look for someone who is focusing exclusively on your support, who can help you assess exactly what you need and make concrete plans to get those needs met. This could be a pastor or a therapist. If you have never worked with a therapist before, here is a brief set of tips on how to select one: http://bit.ly/pD4kgt. Please remember that being diagnosed with a stage 4 tumor is a tremendously stressful event. It's normal to feel confused, scared, angry, and overwhelmed. It's also normal to need quite a bit of help and support as you try to cope. I hope that you are able to get all the support you need. Please feel free to ask for more detail if I didn't quite answer your question.