My father in law received this diagnosis this morning he was with my husband and seemed to take it in his stride. He is 80 and lives with his wife.
He has had a scan and X-ray then an endoscopy this morning. The doctor called them in, said the tumour was too big to stent, and that the cancer had spread into the lymph nodes.
We were expecting this as he has been suffering in silence for some time - head in the sand syndrome! The doctor didn’t really give much further information other than a Macmillan nurse would telephone probably today.
I’m right in believing this is terminal although no-one has said.
Hi
Sorry to read this about your father in law and the impact the diagnosis has on everyone, we sometimes talk about a tsunami that comes with a diagnosis and sometimes the effect on the family can seem greater than that on the patient.
One thought that might help - we cannot change the past but we can change how we react to it. It would seem from what you say the simpler treatments might not be possible and even if a cure might not be possible how to manage making life as comfortable as possible and what memories can be shared or created in this time.
It is my wife who has the cancer, she has had it for 6 years and there is currently no hope of a cure - but her cancer is stable, she is in good health and full of life.
Hope the nurse gets back to you, they are often really good at looking to support not just the patient but also those supporting the patient too. You might like to look in Family and friends - Discussion Forum and/or Carers Only - Discussion Forum where we try to help each other with our struggles when those patients as you note "take it in their stride".
Fear of the unknown is really challenging - sharing on here can be very helpful, so thank you for joining the club that we wish we never needed.
<<hugs>>
Steve
