My elderly mum has cancer in her neck and face and I decided to have no treatment. We are now 11 months after diagnosis and expect her to only have a few months at the most to live. I’m her youngest daughter and do most of the caring for her. I am myself in recovery from breast cancer a few years ago and all the feelings are still very raw for me. my mum was there till all my treatment and I’m really struggling to get my head around the fact that I will lose her soon I’m physically and mentally exhausted from everything and really don’t know how to pick myself back up. I don’t feel strong enough to be there for her or to cope with what’s coming.
Hi Barney8080
Welcome to our community, I hope you find it both informative and supportive.
Sorry to hear about your mum, I can understand how challenging it might be having gone through cancer treatment yourself and it is certainly easy as a carer to overlook the importance of looking after ourselves. I ended up doing a living with less stress course with Maggies that really helped me. The mindfulness bit of living in the here and now rather than worrying about a future I could not control but could imagine all sorts of things that never happened was quite helpful. The conscious breathing exercises were good too for helping me relax and also when life decides it is time to throw a new curveball. If it helps remember you can ring the helpline here 0800 808 0000 it is open from 8am to 8pm 7 days a week.
<<hugs>>
Steve
