Hi........
A bit of background.... both my Mother's parents died from cancer. Her aunt recovered from breast cancer and one of her brothers had successful treatment of bowel cancer. As a child, anyone over 50 is very old and you don't think to ask for a cause of death, but I do know that my uncle died within five years of his op. My mother went on to develop bowel and liver cancer, refused chemotherapy and died within 6 months of diagnosis. My father was diagnosed about ten years later at such an advanced stage that there was nothing to be done and he died two weeks later.
Over the years I have asked my GP several times whether cancer runs in the family, and the answers have changed as research has improved the understanding of the disease. By the time of my father's death the consensus was that yes, it is hereditary and I have a 3 in 5 chance of being diagnosed with liver cancer. I am now the same age that my mother was when she died, and I have come to terms with the probability that I will get a late stage diagnosis over the next ten years and mostly I'm prepared for that.
What I was completely unprepared for (and I don't know why really, given the above) was my daughter's recent diagnosis. Her smear tests have shown HPV in the past, so she has been having annual tests, last year's was clear, this year's was "Where the heck did that come from?" This week will clarify whether she is at Stage 2 or Stage 3. Like many people, she doesn't like to worry people, and she's not a worrier herself, so she put her recent symptoms down to natural changes as she's getting older so things were only picked up at her latest test. She's only finally told me because she needs me to be prepared for the worst.
I am so angry!! I don't know if joining the community will help me, but I feel it might be worth a try so here I am......
Hi and welcome to the Online Community although I am so sorry to see you joining us and even more sorry to hear about your family history and indeed about your daughters recent diagnosis.
1 in 2 people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, but the positive is that cancer survival had doubled since the 1970s
But this is still such a very stressful and challenging time for all the family but I do hope you find the community a safe place to get support and ask your questions.
The New to Community is like our reception desk where you can be signpost to our various cancer support groups and other services so can I recommend that you consider joining our supportive Cervical cancer group. This will be a safe place to talk to others who may have a similar diagnosis, treatment experience, to ask questions and talk with others who are supporting family and friends on their journey.
If you'd like to connect in with a group click on the Green link I have created above. Then once the page opens click on the black banner that says [click to join] at the bottom, or the [Join] button under "Group tools."
You can then introduce yourself by putting up a ‘new post’ by clicking in the box near the top right with + New or + (Depending on the device you are using) and you are ready to go.
You could copy and paste the text from this post into your new post and as always you can reply to existing ‘Discussions’ by click [reply].
When it comes to the practical and emotional challenges of supporting someone on their cancer journey you may benefit from joining our supportive Family and friends group where you will connect with others supporting family and friends
The Macmillan Support Line is open 8am-8pm (timings may differ across services) 7 days a week on 0808 808 00 00 or via Webchat and Email too. This service provides cancer information, practical information, emotional support, benefits/financial guidance or just a listening ear. You may also find our Ask an Expert section helpful but do allow a few working days for a reply.
To find information covering diagnosis, treatments and pages covering most types of cancers check our Online Information and Support Section.
Talking to people face to face when on a cancer journey (patient or family) can be very helpful but during these strange times it’s not that available but do check to see if any Local Macmillan Support in your area has opened up. Do also check out for a local Maggie's Centre in your area as these folks are amazing.
Always around if you need further help in navigating the community.
All the very best ((hugs))
Hi and welcome to the community from me.
I’m sorry to see the reason for your post, but would echo Mike’s suggestion that you join us in the Cervical Cancer group. It would be very unusual to receive a cancer diagnosis from a smear test, as biopsies are required to confirm this, so I wondered if there may have been any confusion over cancer and precancerous cells (which is what the smear is screening for)?
I help out in the cervical cancer group and the link is in my signature below. I’d encourage you to come and chat with us there, as between us we have a lot of experience of this cancer and can help support you, and your daughter too if she’d like to join.
Sarah x
