Hello; am looking just for advice and coping, I have recently learned today that my mum as been told she as stage 3-4 lung cancer. She has a scan on Monday and as had one round of chemo and the second one she took a reaction, So it’s been push back now to the 3rd of April. As it’s just me as I am an only child and all I know is my mum. It’s breaking my heart but also want to be strong for her as well. I have never dealt with cancer in my family before and I am completely lost with all xxx
Hi Craigxx and a very warm welcome to the Macmillan Community but sorry to hear about your mum’s diagnosis.
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 (I have a totally different type of cancer)
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 Cancer Support Groups (Discussion Rooms) so can I recommend you join and post in our dedicated……
…… support group. This is a safe place 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.
As for the practical and emotional challenges of supporting your mum and indeed yourself you may benefit from joining and posting in our……
……. 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.
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.
Do get back to me if you need further help navigating the community.
Hi Craigxx 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 lung cancer and it's completely normal to feel as you do. You might find this information from Macmillan about your feelings when someone has cancer useful to look through.
As the online community is divided into different support forums I'm going to recommend a couple for you to join. The first is the lung cancer forum, which is a great place to ask questions and share experiences with others who have a similar diagnosis to your mum, and the second is either the carers only forum, if you are your mum's carer, or the family and friends forum if you're not her carer. Both of these forums are safe and supportive places to share your worries and emotions with others who have a lived one living with cancer.
To join, just click on the links I've created and, once you've joined, you can start a new post in the same way as you did here and join in with existing conversations by clicking on 'reply'.
It would be great if you could put something about your mum's diagnosis and treatment to date 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.
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
