Hi all,
I would really appreciate any insight/advice from people with similar experiences:
I live abroad, but my over 70 year old dad in London has a cavity in his lung, and he is going to have an endoscopy soon as the oncologist believes he may have lung cancer, which is likely given his health background. I am a bit lost about how to support him and my mum who are inevitably terrified, plus I am not able to be with them as they have been told they they have to go into total isolation (not even leave the front door for a daily walk). This is most worrying for me, not just because they can't have loved ones around but also because if he is diagnosed, he wont be able to do the things he enjoys most to keep his spirits up, plus he is at the best of times a worrier and gets stressed easily, although my mum is the opposite luckily. I feel totally powerless/useless and wish there was something I could do other than calling regularly to help keep my parents spirits up, which is going to be vital to facilitate whatever treatment plan is proscribed if he is diagnosed with lung cancer
Hi,
sorry to hear about your dad, this period between someone probably has cancer to a definitive diagnosis and then a treatment plan can be really hard and with the current restrictions even more difficult than ever.
From what you say it sounds like they do have some friends local to them so hopefully they will be able to provide support with shopping etc. In terms of worrying it can be helpful for him to talk to our helpline 0808 808 0000 - open 7 days a week 8am-8pm and they can help to direct to help with stress - because when you have enough to worry about already it is helpful to concentrate on what is in the here and now rather that worrying about the future. Some mindfulness courses can be quite useful in this.
As for being useless - keeping in touch is fantastic and I bet your dad is proud of you and what you have achieved, it can help to focus on how he helped you achieve.
<<hugs>>
Steve
