Hello everyone and I am new on this website and would like to share my story with you so here goes.
I am no stranger to cancer as my mother had a large tumour in 2010 (at the age of 82) and after a big operation to remove the whole of her lower colon, had to adjust to living with a stoma which she has done really successfully ever since. Then six years later in 2016, she had to have a mastectomy due to breast cancer. I am pleased to say that my mother is still with us and recently celebrated her 97th birthday though she is now in residential care due to her short-term memory being severely compromised, following four months in hospital with two serious non cancer related illnesses last year.
It is a wonderful home with very caring and compassionate staff and we are so relieved that she is being looked after because it would be impossible for me to stretch myself in three different directions (my mother, sister and daughter) as my 40-year-old daughter has a very serious form of OCD and is currently in supported accommodation herself.
Up until now, my sister would have shared the load regarding our mother (we have had to take over all her financial and health affairs) but obviously now that my sister's cancer has returned, she has had to step back from everything.
I want to share with you how brave and courageous my sister has been. She was diagnosed with clear cell ovarian cancer following a hysterectomy in September 2019 and was told by her local hospital that she only had 12 months to live.
A very close friend encouraged her to get a second opinion and she went to The Royal Marsden Hospital who felt that it was far too early to give up hope and they took over her care and have successfully treated her ever since and I cannot praise them highly enough.
She always knew that at each 3 monthly scan she could be told that the cancer had returned and it did come back, firstly in 2020 when she was treated with radiotherapy for 9 months and secondly in June 2021 when she was put on an immunotherapy phase one trial for 17 months.This successfully held the cancer at bay and she was in remission for a long time although she had some serious side effects.
However, on January 22nd this year she found out that the cancer has returned yet again, and this time in a particularly aggressive form, in her peritoneum. She has started a course of chemotherapy and The Royal Marsden Hospital is continuing to treat her. She is happy about that because she has been with them for so long and trusts them implicitly.
So that is where we are at the present time.
Her courage and acceptance of the situation is truly inspirational and I am trying to follow her lead but as I am sure you will all understand, it isn't easy.
All we can do as a family is to take one day at a time and support each other as much as possible.
Thank you for your time in reading this message and I look forward to being a part of the Macmillan online community! 
Thank you so much for your welcome and also your support.
You are so right about all this but I have taken comfort from your wise words and admire your strength in coping with what life has thrown your way.
As a mother myself, I cannot begin to imagine the stress and worry of having one of your children taken ill with cancer and my heart goes out to you. 
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I really appreciate your reply to my message, as for a long time I was hovering on the edge of this forum, wanting to join in but not having the courage to do so!
It is reassuring to get a reply such as yours and I am sending love, strength and a hug your way too and I will include two emojis (I have added a heart above and a hug at the end) but I am not sure if they work on this website or not, so if they don't come through then hopefully you can imagine them! 
