My Dad has secondary neck cancer , diagnosed shortly after our Mum passed away in February 2022. Dad has surgery last year to remove mouth cancer but it has returned. I am finding it really hard to get my head round everything. He’s experiencing side effects to the proton beam therapy and had a TIA last week . He is back home now but is on his own now. The local district nurse team are checking up on him daily. I live quite a distance from him as does my brother. I stayed with him for a couple of weeks during his first radiotherapy sessions and the rest weeks but am so worried about him now . He is meant to have a third round of treatment starting on June 14th. His speech has been affected by the stroke and he said he feels like a freak because the right side of his face has dropped and possibly won’t recover. He was crying on when I called him yesterday. I am so sad.
Hi Verbena
So sorry to hear about your dad and your mum too. While it seems quite odd I find it quite encouraging that he felt secure enough with you to cry. In our early days on our cancer journey I tended to keep crying to the time I was alone in the shower.
If we look at Emotional support for family and friends, especially the emotions bit I know I recognize many of the stages in there. One fairly useful technique I learnt was to almost step back and notice the emotions without allowing them to overwhelm me.
Sometimes sharing on here can be helpful so I am glad you came here. The district nurses will hep ensure your dad is kept safe, do they have a way of contacting you or your brother if there is something you needed to know?
<<hugs>>
Steve
