The first thing that enters your mind when you heard that your dad has cancer is “Is he going to die”?
It’s the first natural response when you hear the word; also you always think this is the kind of thing that happens to other people not your dad.
I know that sounds like a daft thing to say but it’s what you think.
I t was very hard for me as I was the one that had to tell my dad, the reason that came about was that I phoned the hospital to chase up his biopsy results and the consultant called me back and told me.
I have never experienced anything as difficult as having to tell my own father that he had cancer.
I realise how selfish that sounds as it was a million times harder for him to hear.
My dad had a sore throat fort a couple of weeks and it was hanging on so he went to the GP who looked at my dad’s throat who in turn sent to hospital the same day ...and things happened very quickly from then on in.
The first things were a camera to have a look and then a biopsy of the area.
When we went for the biopsy results the doctor who seen us didn’t know we already had been told..so he was not happy about the way we were told , anyway he told us that the cancer had been there a few months at least which we found hard to believe as he only had a wee sore throat for a few days...the official name of the little blighter was squamous cell carcinoma.
Operating on it was not an option as it would be to envasive so it was to be a chemo/radio combo, which his consultant said should be curative and if not it would make for a much easier surgery when everything had shrunk away
My dad was facing it head on and with his usual stubbornness and fighting attitude which is half the battle, you need that fighting spirit.
My mum however was a different story, not matter how positive the doctors seemed she always seen the potential bad and assumed the docs were leaving something out, she was taking it a lot harder than the rest of the family and finding it a lot harder to come to terms with.
The treatment was gruelling from the moment it started until the second it ended.
Dad found the radio so much harder than the chemo as it left his throat so raw and burnt he could not even have a sip of water and was in hospital for six weeks.
When they fitted the peg feeding tube that was a godsend for him as he started gaining weight again and feeling a lot better.
My dad is home now with the radio and chemo done, cannot manage solid food of much food orally yet but just being home is helping a great deal, he feel better he functions normally in day to day life and is just thankful that he is still here with all of his family .
My dad is still fighting his battle and has a way to go but the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight.
For everybody out there still fighting that battle or caring for someone that is no matter how low you feel or how hopeless keep going you can do it and never give up...its the hardest battle the world for the patient and those caring but there is lots of support and advice out there and you are never alone.
My e mail address is lmw213@mail.com if you ever wanna chat and thank you for reading my ramblings J
