Hello
Yesterday after a breast biopsy my lovely 72 year old widowed mum was told that she had breast cancer and is to meet with the surgeon on Wednesday to discuss surgery/treatment. I live with my mum - I am 53 and have no children or partner and I am also an only child. We have only each other. I have no experience - personally - of breast cancer in anyone else in my life. All we gauged from the radiographer was that it was a small area. I am in shock & don't know what to do for my mum. I am trying to be 'light' and normal. Inside I am terrified for her and wish it was me who had it. Overnight, my entire perspective on life as changed. I know that cancer is not the life sentence it used to be, but I am just TERRIFIED for my beloved mum. She is 72 and not ultra-fit - will she survive surgery? Will she be 'cured'? How do we carry-on as normal with this revelation? I have cried a bit, but daren't let the floodgates open. I have no-one to turn to but must stay strong for her. Please help,
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 about your mum.
A cancer diagnosis can bring a lot of stress on a family but talking with people who are on the same journey will help a lot.
As my cancer journey was rather different you may like to follow this link to our Breast cancer forum where you will connect with people who understand the journey your mum is on. You can ask the folks questions about treatments, what to expect and how to help her during this time.
Follow the link and join the group. To do this hit the ‘Join the Group’ tab just under the main group name. At this point go to the right on the group home page and select how you want to receive email notifications when someone answers your posts. If in the future you don’t want to receive notifications just switch off the email notifications tab.
You can look through all the discussions in the forum by hitting the ‘Discussions’ tab. But the BEST WAY to get support is to go to the 'Start a Discussion' tab just under the main group name. Set up your own Discussion and Introduce yourself to the group - you could just copy an paste what you have in this first post.
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
Have a look through our various Macmillan Support Line Services then call them on 0808 808 00 00 to be very helpful covering Emotional Support and Practical Information. Clinical Information and Financial Support and Work Guidance mostly open 8.00 to 8.00 but check the link.
We also have our ‘Ask an Expert’section where you can post questions to our mostly Volunteer Experts but please allow 2 working days to get a reply.
We also have our Online Information and Support Section where you will find some great pages covering the cancer diagnosis, treatment and information pages covering most types of cancers.
Talking to people face to face can help a lot so check to see if you have any Local Macmillan Support Groups in your area or a Maggie’s Centre as these folks are amazing.
It is worth putting some information in your profile. This really helps others when answering. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself.
To do this click on YOUR username, look to the left and select 'Edit Profile'. Put as much or as little in your profile and you can amend it at any time - REMEMBER hit the big green SAVE before you leave the page. If you're not sure what to write you can take a look at any members profiles by clicking on their username.
All the best.
Hi and welcome to the online community although I'm very sorry that you've had to find us.
Having just discovered that you mum's been diagnosed with breast cancer is a very scary time and it's perfectly natural to what to do all you can for her. With this in mind could I point you in the direction of our very friendly breast cancer group where you can ask questions and share experiences.
Another group which I think you'd benefit from joining is the carers group which is a safe and supportive place to share your worries and is for carers only.
To join these groups just click on the links I've created and then choose 'join this group' on the pages that open. To ask a question or introduce yourself select 'start a discussion' and to respond to existing posts click on 'reply'.
When you feel up to it, it would be really useful if could pop something about your mum's journey so far into your profile as it helps others when answering or looking for someone with a similar diagnosis. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Edit 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.
Sending a supportive ((hug))
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
