First my nanna, then grandad, now aunty.

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  1. My nanna was diagnosed firstly when I was in primary school. Took cancer head on and well and truly said not today. And survived. It came back in 2015 as secondary breast cancer but had spread to her liver lungs and spine. She lost her courageous battle in June 2018. 
    earlier on this year we discovered that my grandad had skin cancer on his neck and face. He had it removed and now it’s all gone. 
    yesterday I found out my great aunt (nannas sister) has cancer in her kidney as well as having leukaemia. 
    Since my nanna died my aunty has stepped into a nanna role for me and my cousins and our kids. I am petrified of losing her. It’s all I can think about. We’re waiting for further treatments options from the drs. 
    but now I am wondering if me and my cousins, my mom and my aunty should get a gene test as that’s a lot of cancer to have in the family. 
    I am not as strong as my nanna and her sister. I do not want my kids to go through what we’ve been through? Then I feel nothing but guilt when my aunt is going through all this and here I am thinking about myself. Is this normal? Or am I just selfish? I thought this might help me get it out of my head without upsetting any of my family. 
  • Hi

    Sorry to hear about what your family has been going through, we hear the statistic that 1 in 2 will be affected by cancer in their lifetime but somehow we hope/expect it won't be us.

    Your family has encountered a whole range to different cancer types so it might be difficult to identify anything directly in common that could be the subject of a gene test. Another question to ask is what would/could someone do with the information if they had it.

    If we look at Supporting a family member with cancer we can see all the sorts of feelings everyone goes through at the time like this - so yes you are normal and not selfish, just dealing with a fairly rubbish set of circumstances at the moment.

    Posting on here can help but if you want/need remember you can ring the helpline or reach out to any other source of support - it is amazing how talking to strangers can help in a way where family and friends miss the point.

    <<hugs>>

    Steve

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