Hi I'm here because back in May my mum had been in hospital for 4 weeks when she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, she'd been having pains in her abdomen, while hubby and I had been on honeymoon and hadn't told us. When we came home I knew something wasn't right she was jaundiced. Her doctor sent her straight to hospital and investigations began. She had a stent put in to open a blockage in the bile duct and had several scans. Then we were brought in to be told the diagnosis. Hospitals were only allowing one of us in as a designated visitor. Now bearing in mind theres 4 of us 2 daughters 2 sons you can imagine how hard this was. Only two of us were allowed in to be told and we had to relay the information back to the other two. So 6 months on mum finished her chemo on 1st Dec and we are waiting on an appointment to go and see what next steps are! At 3 months she had a ct scan done which showed a reduction, we don't know how significant the reduction is yet but its positive news no matter how small, the best we were hoping for was it had stayed the same! As you can imagine it's hard to get too positive as a other 3 months of chemo has passed and were hoping its the same. She had a s an done 5th Dec so shouldn't be much longer to wait to find out. Mum is so strong, she's an inspirational lady at 73 she would like to continue with chemo if they'll let her. She has tolerated this first round really well, she hasn't lost her hair and has never been sick with it which helps with her positivity. Here's hoping for some positive news soon. Would welcome any comments from any of you with similar circumstances. Sometimes it's easier to talk to people who aren't family.
Hi Shazza7 and welcome to the Online Community but so sorry to hear about your mum’s journey.
A cancer diagnosis in the family can be such a challenging and stressful time but I do hope you will find the Community a safe place to get support and to ask your questions.
The Community is divided into support groups (discussion rooms) so can I recommend you join and post in our supportive Pancreatic cancer support group. This is a safe place to talk to others who may have a similar diagnosis and treatment experience, to ask questions and get support from family members who are navigating the same journey.
If you'd like to connect in with a group click on the (Bold) Group link I have created above. Once the group 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
When it comes to the practical and emotional challenges of supporting family you may also benefit from joining our general Family and friends support group where you will connect with others navigating the same support challenges.
The Macmillan Support Line is open from 8am-8pm (timings may differ across services) 7 days a week on 0808 808 00 00 where you can talk with someone about specific cancer and practical information, get emotional support, benefits/financial guidance or just connect with a listening ear.
We also have our Ask an Expert section but do allow a few working days for a reply.
Talking to people face to face can be very helpful so do check to see if you have any Local Macmillan Support in your area, do also check for a local Maggie's Centre as these folks are amazing and aim to give support to all the family.
Please do get back to me if you need further help.
