Hello, i'm very new to this world but I come seeking advice.
A family member has been diagnosed with stage 4 ALK+ lung cancer and he is struggling a huge amount with his mental health, incredibly depressed and struggling to comprehend what is happening. He's always been super healthy and fit and this has come out of nowhere.
I'm wondering how I can begin helping, where to start, how to sustain the help, what to say... etc.
I've been letting them know I'm there to support and helping them with meals.
Thanks,
Perth
Hi Perth 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 a family member is struggling with his lung cancer diagnosis and it's great that you want to try and help as much as possible.
The online community is divided into different support forums, so I'm going to recommend that you join the family and friends forum which is a great place to ask questions and share experiences with others who have a loved one living with cancer.
To join, just click on the link 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'.
You might find this information from Macmillan on supporting someone with cancer useful. Macmillan have teamed up with Bupa to provide up to 4 free counselling sessions for people struggling emotionally because of a cancer diagnosis. maybe you could point your family member towards that resource?
It would be great if you could put something about your family member'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"
