Hi everyone.
Thankyou for letting me join.
I am the best friend of someone who was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer and boney mets, in December just gone.
She was initially given 2- 3 weeks without treatment, 12 months with.
She was very unsure of what to do, but as she has a son in his twenties, she went for the treatment.
She has had two rounds of Chemo, and its been quite brutal.
She's had infections and a DVT since, plus multiple admissions to hospital.
Third round of Chemo has been put in hold until infections are under control.
We both worked together in the NHS so are very aware of cancer, but wow, its so very different when its personal.
My friend has been finding talking about it extremely difficult, with almost being in denial at times.
I do my very best to support her, but feel out of my depth at times.
We do laugh, alot, and we have also cried alot.
I asked her if I could contact Mcmillan fior suport for her and myself, and she agreed.
So here I am!
Any support will be gratefully recived and advice on what we may face.
Id love to take her away for a night, somewhere quiet and relaxing.
Has anyone done this? Or know of anywhere?
Hi Chook and welcome to the Macmillan Community but so sorry to hear about your friend's diagnosis.
A cancer diagnosis like this can be such a challenging and stressful time, I am living with an incurable cancer so am on the other side of the fence when it comes to support but getting support from others who are dealing with the ‘exact same' support challenges can help you a lot.
The New to Community is like our reception desk where we try to direct you to the best part of the Community for you to get support. The Community is actually divided into dedicated Support Groups (Discussion Rooms) and when it comes to the practical and emotional challenges of supporting your friend and indeed yourself you may benefit from joining and posting in our
Supporting someone with incurable cancer
……. support groups where you will connect with a wide range of members 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 in the [Black - Click to Join - Banner] that appears at the bottom of the page and this will then confirm that you have joined the group.
When you are ready……. you can introduce yourself by putting up your very own post by clicking [ + Create new post] or [ + ] in the top right of the group page and putting
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 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.
Please do get back to me if you need further help navigating the community.
