Hello everyone, I am new to the community. I would appreciate your insights and advice as to how to better support my parent as the cold weather approaches.
80 year old parent with stage 3 ovarian cancer. 4 cycles of chemotherapy from Jan - May 2019. No chemotherapy for the last 17 weeks due to issues with baseline health.
We have two support visits a day to assist with mobility issues with getting in and out of bed.
We live in rented accommodation that uses a coal fire to heat the house. Parent was able to keep it going through the day in spring, however, with the cold weather returning after a summer break from such activity, they now seem incapable of doing so.
I am not sure if this is further mobility issues, or the fear of soiling themselves if they move / bend down as they are having more regular instances of uncontrolled evacuations in the day.
Social worker does not return calls. I do not know who is the best person to talk to about my concerns and what is possible / feasible to help her.
Many thanks for any advice.
Anoosh
Hi and welcome to the Online Community, although I am sorry to see you finding us and so sorry to hear about your parent.
A cancer diagnosis indeed bring a lot of issues to light but talking with people who are on the same journey can help a lot.
As I was the person with the cancer my experience of supporting someone is very limited, although my wife has been amazing over my 20 years.
You may find our Careers Only and Friends and Family groups a good place where you can connect with others support family through their cancer journey but more importantly the carers care for each other.
Just follow the link above, hitting ‘Join the Group’ tab just under the main group name, then go to the 'Start a Discussion' tab and set up your own Discussion and introduce yourself to the group - you could just copy an paste what you have in this first post.
You may find our various Macmillan Support Line Services to be helpful - call them on 0808 808 00 00 this free service covers Emotional Support, Practical Information. Clinical Information, 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.
All the very best.
