Hi. This is all very new to us as a family. My mum has 3 cancers in her throat, lung and bowel. All are seperate, all are primaries and we are told all are curable individually. Doctors say this is rare but are hopeful they can cure them all. The worry is the effect of 3 different treatment on her body and if she will survive the treatment rather than the actual cancers. The lung cancer is the most aggressive and is being treated first with chemo and radiation. She had her first round last week and then had a mini stroke. We had an appointment with the oncologist today and thought he may say this was the end of treatment due to the risk of stroke but he was happy for her to continue if that's what she wanted, which it is. My mum is very strong and I am not. I am emotional and she isn't openly. I'm worried I'm falling apart at this early stage and not being strong enough for her. The last thing she needs is to worry about me. She is 75 and I'm 44, married with a teenager but seem to be the child here.
Hi Unicorn13 and a very warm welcome to the Macmillan Community but sorry to hear about your mum's diagnosis, this is such a challenging time for you all.
A cancer diagnosis in the family can be such a challenging and stressful time but getting support from others who are dealing with the ‘exact same' cancer type and support challenges will help a lot.
The Community is actually divided into dedicated Cancer Specific Support Groups (Discussion Rooms) so can I recommend you join and post in our dedicated
Bowel (colon and rectum) cancer
support groups. These groups are safe places to talk to others who may have a similar diagnosis, treatment experience, to ask questions and get support from family members who are navigating the same support journey.
It will be an emotional time supporting your mum so you might find this Macmillan information your feelings when someone has cancer helpful as well as this link getting help with your emotions, you may also benefit from joining our dedicated Carers only support group where you will connect with others navigating the same support challenges.
To connect in with a group click on the “Bold Italic Links” I have created above then once the group page opens click on “Click to Join” when the black banner appears or “Join” under “Group Tools” (this all depends on the device you are using)
When you are ready you can put up your own post by clicking “+new” or “+” in the top right next to the group title. You can copy and paste the text from this post into your new post.
The Macmillan Support Line is open 8am-8pm (timings may differ across services) 7 days a week on 0808 808 00 00. This service provides cancer information, practical information, emotional support, benefits/financial guidance or just 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 provide support from all the family.
Do get back to me if you need further help navigating the community but in the meantime all the very best.
