Hi All,
I am looking for some reassurance, guidance, understanding of anyone who has been or is in the same situation.
I am really close to my mum, we go out every week and whilst in her late 70's and showing signs of slowing down, I could never had imagined that things would go like this,
At the end of August we all met up, I was so shocked to see how much weight she had lost. I pushed her to go to the doctors but she said she was just stressed with looking after my elderly nan.
9 days later, she called me to ask me to attend the doctors with her but said she was struggling to wall. We managed to get the doctor to her, who thought it was just an infection and advised to get bloods done. As the wait for blood tests was nearly 3 weeks i took her to a and e where they did the bloods and confirmed she had a high crp marker and calcium in her blood. They ordered an urgent scan.
As the days went on she went downhill until finally we managed to get admitted to hospital for the scan which confirmed she had secondary breast cancer from 15 years ago as lesions on her bones and lungs. She has no symptoms other than that of the affects of the calcium in her blood.
They admitted her to hospital where she stayed for nearly two weeks, receiving fluids and got her eating again before doing a biopsy.
She was discharged just over a week ago, but now i am finding it hard as she doesn't want visitors, doesn't reply to messages, just calls when she feels like she wants to talk. I know that she is dealing with it in her own way and trying to protect us as children but I am more hands on and finding it hard to be so disjointed from things.
The doctors and oncology team met for early in the week and i believe (from what i hear from my brother) that there is an appointment next week.
I don't know how to prepare or know what to expect. i have read people saying they have had treatment for secondary breast cancer which has sent it to sleep and they are still going 10 years on but others that says outlook is grim.
is anyone in the same boat and is able to share experience and or chat?
Thanks
Hi Kel1001 and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.
I'm sorry to read that your mum has recently been diagnosed with secondary breast cancer and it's only natural that you want to find others who are in the same boat.
As I wasn't sure from your post if you're looking for other families who have a mum with secondary breast cancer or if you're hoping to hear from people who have secondary breast cancer, I thought I'd mention that if it's the latter there is a secondary breast cancer group which you could also join. This would give you the chance to ask questions and share experiences about diagnosis and treatment with others who have this type of cancer.
If you'd like to join, just click on the link I've created and, once you've joined, you can start a new post in the same way as you did here and join in with existing conversations by clicking on 'reply'.
When you feel up to it, it would be great if you could put something about your mum's diagnosis and treatment so far into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
That's fine, but just to let you know that it isn't just the people who have cancer who can join the cancer specific support groups their friends and families can too.
Wishing you and your mum all the best
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
