Hello,
My mother in law was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in October 2023 and was given six months to a year to live. Yesterday afternoon, my mother in law was taken to hospital as she had been suffering from a chest infection and was struggling.
Various tests were carried out and we have just found out that she has a blood clot on her lung and sadly the cancer has now spread to her liver and lungs. My mother in law has now come home and my husband and I have also been told that a bed will be delivered to her property to be set up within the living room.
We have so many questions but just wondered if anyone else has had experience of this ? Deep down we know the end is near but we are not sure if we are looking at days, weeks, months etc especially now the bed is being delivered? Any advice would be much appreciated, thank you.
Hi SJInk and welcome to the Macmillan Community but so sorry to hear about your mother in laws diagnosis.
A cancer diagnosis like this in the family can be such a challenging and stressful time but getting support from others who are dealing with the ‘exact same' support challenges can help a lot.
The New to Community is like our reception desk where we look to direct you to the best part of the Community for you to get support. The Community is divided into dedicated Support Groups (Discussion Rooms) and when it comes to the practical and emotional challenges of supporting your mother in law and indeed the ready of the family you may benefit from joining and posting in our
and
Supporting someone with incurable cancer
……. support groups where you will connect with others navigating the exact same support challenges.
To connect 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)
You can then put up your own post when you’re ready 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.
It is an emotional time supporting family 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 find it helpful to call the Macmillan Support Line 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 support all the family.
Please do get back to me if you need further help navigating the community.
