Hi recently over the past few months I've gone from living on my own and always busy doing volunteering posts for local charities to now being the fulltime carer of my mum who has recently moved in with me after her health deteriorating and recently been diagnosed with a heart complaint and untreatable lung cancer, thing are plodding along now things have settled down after having to clear her flat and organised the equipment she needed, we have carers coming in once a day but everything else is down to me and to be honest I'm constantly exhausted due to having health problems myself and no one acknowledging the fact and just leaving me to get on with sorting and taking mum to any appointment and doing whatever else she needs on a daily basis. sorry for rambling on.
Hi and welcome to the Online Community, although I am so sorry to see the circumstance that brought you here and so sorry to hear that your mum has been diagnosed with untreatable Lung Cancer.
I am Mike Thehighlander and I help out on the Community and I will do my best to direct you to the best places for you to find the support and help you need.
This is hard time for both you and your mum as this is all new and there is not real instruction book for being a full time cancer carer.
On my long journey we found the best way to navigate the various challenges that a cancer diagnosis brings was by talking with people who are on the same journey. My wife was my carer and she found talking with people who had walked the path before her did help a lot.
We also have these forums where you can connect with others supporting family and friends through their cancer journey: Carers Forum and Friends and Family Forum and Supporting someone with incurable cancer
Just join the group(s) and hit the 'Start a Discussion' tab and introduce yourself to the group and remember to go to the right on the group home page and select how you want to receive email notifications when someone answers your posts.
You may also find our various Macmillan Support Line Services on 0808 808 00 00 to be helpful as you can talk to a friendly person that can help in lots of ways including checking if you are getting all the practical and financial support available from the various systems.
Also check these links to see if there is any local support groups that can help out Local Macmillan Support Groups and if you have a Maggie’s Centre near you check it out as they are great.
All the best to both you and your mum x
Hi and welcome to the online community
It sounds like both you and your mum have had a lot to come to terms with in the space of only a few months and it must be very difficult for you both.
Could I suggest that you join the carers group which is a safe and supportive place to share your worries and to get help from others who understand what you're going through.
To join just click on the link I've created and then choose 'join this group' on the page that opens. You can then respond to posts by clicking on 'reply' and start you own by choosing 'start a discussion'.
You might also like to take a look at this information from Macmillan about looking after someone with cancer. It has information about the emotions you may feel, looking after yourself and also talks about financial help.
Wishing you and your mum all the best
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
