Hi.
Firstly, sorry to everyone rerading this, I know you are all here because you are in pain and I wish you all the best possible outcomes.
Secondly, I am in need of support:
- My Mum has been diagnosed with esophageal cancer. It seems like treatment is available but today she refused an MRI due to clautrophobia, and I'm worried about her refusing other treaments as soon as things get difficult (she is currently reasonably "OK", but has a tendency to give up as soon as anything gets hard, "fighter" is not a word you could use about her)
- My Dad might have bladder cancer (biopsy results pending), and is currently housebound due to a (hopefully temporary) cathether
- I am fighting with my only sibling, mainly because his version of supporting me is to tell me that I make life hard for myself by worrying too much, or to tell me that whatever I'm feeling is "wrong" (there's way more to it than that, of course)
- I live in a different country to my family. I'd just quit my job to go travelling for six months (after a very stressful year work-wise and family-wise). The cancer news came 2 weeks into my trip, which I subsequently abandoned and went to stay with my parents, but, with their blessing I have now returned to my home country with the idea of doing a little of my trip before my mum's treatment starts, but I don't think I want to spend so much time alone right now.
Ideally I'm looking for some Zoom-type support groups for people whose family memebers have cancer, in which participants talk to each other, but any recommendations for any type of group would be welcome.
Thank you in advance for your help, and good luck to everyone
Hi and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.
I'm sorry to read that your mum has recently been diagnosed with oesophageal cancer and that your dad is currently under investigation for bladder cancer. It must be an incredibly difficult time for the whole family.
I can see that you've already found and posted in the family and friends group and I'm sure someone will be along soon to share their methods for coping.
If you want to connect with others who have oesophageal cancer then can I recommend you join the oesophageal cancer group which is a great place to ask questions and share experiences. If this is something that you'd like to do, clicking on the link I've created will take you straight there where you can then join and start a new post in the same way as you did here. You can also join in with existing conversations by clicking on 'reply'.
Unfortunately, there are no zoom type support groups within the community as it's all anonymous but I'm sure you'll get lots of support from the other members.
It would be great if you could pop something about your mum's diagnosis and treatment so far into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select '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 virtual (((hug)))
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
