im lost. diagnosed sep 21. had 7 chemo and immunothery that didnt work.. i knew they could cure me but it came as a shock to be let go!
hes given me 6 months...im 55..
i need help as to what to say to my children and my brain lessions are bleeding and my liver is almost encased now..im hoping the liver kills me quick..
i also what to know what to expect?? so i can help my family
thankyou for reading
paula
Hi Paula
I am so sorry to read your post. I can hear how shocked and worried you are. My name is Vanessa and I am one of the information nurses.
I see from your profile that you have joined our secondary breast cancer forum and our living with incurable cancer forum. I hope that you have gained some support from them.
This is a difficult discussion to have in this way and I do wonder if you might find helpful to call the Support Line. We often find we can explain our answers in a bit more detail over the phone, giving you the opportunity to ask more questions if needed. It can be very overwhelming not knowing how things might affect you moving forward. And although we can’t tell you exactly what to expect, we can help explain what usually happens for most people in a similar situation.
I am however aware you may not feel like talking so will give some resources which may be helpful in this response.
Firstly, you talk about your children and being unsure what to say to them. I’m not sure how old your children are but Cancer Research UK have a list of additional resources for children of all ages.
I’m not sure if you have support around you Paula, but just to let you know that some hospices do provide family support services. Many of these services offer additional specific support to parents and children either within your own home or at the hospice in outpatient type settings.
Your hospital team or GP can refer you to your local hospice if you feel this would be helpful. Please do not be frightened by the word hospice, they are very specialist services which can support you at home, helping to keep you as well as possible for as long as possible.
I can see that the Dr has estimated that your prognosis is around 6 months, this must have been devastating for you to hear. Its important to understand that although your Dr will have based this information on your own clinical situation it is an estimate and some people do live longer than expected.
You do however ask for information about what to expect so I am including a link to Marie Curie’s information about living with a terminal illness. This information is very general, and everyone is very different but it may be helpful.
I hope this information helpful and that you will feel able to call us if you want to talk over your concerns or require any further support.
Take care
Vanessa G, Cancer Information Nurse Specialist
You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email.
Ref VG/LB
