My aunt

Dear

its quite common when given a diagnosis of cancer to go into a state of shock, and not want to take on board the facts of your prognosis, however some very important decisions will need to be made surrounding any treatments they may prolong life or receiving palliative care. So to defend the Macmillan nurses I have to say there is no easy way round these issues, they have a duty of care to your aunt to make sure she can make informed decisions. Ultimately it’s up to your aunt what she decides to do with any information she is given and as the person with the cancer her choices will have to be respected by everyone involved in her care. It’s very early days so give her time to process what has happened so far. Has she been offered a treatment plan ? And what type of lung cancer is it.

your job is to be supportive and be a good listener when she is ready to talk about what has happened, theres no getting around the fact that as a family member this will be a very difficult time for you but your feelings of powerlessness are not unusual, it’s sometimes harder for the person watching on than for the patient themselves.

Hi Jane thanks for your reply, it's just she was getting on with her life, now they told her it's fast growing ,I don't think they need to put everyone in the same category, she knew there no hope, but she didn't want to hear how long she has ,she can't handle it.we are here for her and try our best and the McMillan nurses do a fantastic job.x

dear

i agree it would be ideal if each patient was treated holistically but from my own experiences I’m afraid we are not at that point yet. As for an accurate prognosis all the doctors have is statistics, some will do better than the average, some will do the average and others will do less and there’s no way of working out in advance which one the patient will be. You can’t unsay what has already been said unfortunately but if the appropriate support network is put around your aunt there is no reason why she should not continue to do the things she enjoys in life if things are adapted to suit the new circumstances. Focus on the positive things that can be done to maintain a good quality of life and leave the mistakes in the past. Your aunt is very lucky to have such a kind and caring niece as yourself and you will be a great asset moving forward .

Many thanks for you reply's it really helps x