My mother in law was diagnosed with Myeloma on the 30th April this year. She went into hospital with a back injury. The doctors were managing her pain for over a week before they decided to do an MRI (reluctantly). After the MRI they discovered she had a mass on her spine and deposits in her thighs. We have not really had a great experience with the doctors involved in her care, and they are passing information onto my mother in law without any one present and we are having to ask them for written care plans because she is heavily medicated most of the time. I have a few questions regarding her care plan and treatment that we just cant seem to get answers from the doctors for.
How long should she be waiting for treatment to start? I understand there is a 2 week pathway from GP to specialist but does this vary from a hospital diagnosis. They told her she had this form of cancer on the 30th April but only did a biopsy on the 21st May. She was left three weeks with no doctor/consultant led care or even communication from the hospital. In those three weeks they could have carried out all the tests such as biopsies that they made her wait for. Am I wrong in thinking they aren't moving fast enough? Especially when they told us it is a very aggressive form of cancer or am I just feeling like this because it was so unexpected and im angry that there is nothing i can do to help her.
Hi Stacey86 and a very warm welcome to the Macmillan Community but sorry to hear about your mother in laws Myeloma diagnosis.
A cancer diagnosis in the family can be such a challenging and stressful time……. I have lived with and been treated for another incurable (very rare) type of blood cancer for over 25 years so I understand in part the journey…….. when it comes to blood cancers things do tend to go very slow and it can be hard to get clear understandable information……. and honestly the 2 week-ish targets go out the window……. but getting support from others who are dealing with the ‘exact same' cancer type or support challenges will help you a lot…….
This New to Community area 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) so can I recommend you join and post in our……
…… support group. This group is a 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.
As for the practical and emotional challenges of supporting your mother in law 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.
You can copy and paste the text from this post into your new post.
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 3 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.
Do get back to me if you need further help navigating the community.
