My husband was diagnosed in 2022 with stage 4 bowel cancer with spread to his liver. Since then he has had numerous operations and he is currently on palliative chemo. He is 46 and we have two young children. Since being told it is palliative treatment we have been thinking about the time when he isn’t here - without explicitly saying that. One thing we had always wanted to do was a small extension on our house. I should add that we both work and my husband has continued to do so throughout, I know he is fortunate to be able to. My husband loves cooking and the extension would be a larger kitchen. We have completed planning and all the various paperwork. However, we now need to decide whether we go ahead with additional borrowing on our mortgage or we just use that extra money to make memories. We aren’t big risk takers. We either need to be brave or stay safe. There have been so many scary moments during his illness but I don’t feel any braver in life. People talk about it ‘only being money’ but I am scared that I will be trying to support my family alone at some point. I know this sounds like a ridiculous dilemma but it is a dilemma for us. Do we build the family home we have always wanted while we can all make memories in it or do we play it safe?
