Hi everyone,
New to the forum. I’m here because my wife was diagnosed with Ovarian cancer and recently had laparoscopic surgery to remove her ovaries and for a historectomy. Surgery was successful and thankfully showed little sign of the cancer spreading to other organs, but of course we have to wait for pathology to tell us about stage and grade, before we look at chemotherapy options.
Honestly it’s all pretty bewildering and really scary. My wife is really ready to join a support group. I’m not really sure what to expect if she does need chemotherapy, how to explain what’s happening to our five year old son, much less how to help her through the impact of the surgery she’s just had.
Really struggling to know what to do or expect. Just looking for other husbands/partners who have been through similar experience to share with/ and learn. Thankyou.
Hi Alphi and a very warm welcome to the Macmillan Community but sorry to hear about your wife'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 or support challenges will help you a lot.
This New to Community area 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 actually divided into dedicated Support Groups (Discussion Rooms) so can I recommend you look to join and post in our……
……. support group.
This group 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 wife and indeed yourself you may benefit from joining and posting in our……
……. support group 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.
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.
The Macmillan Support Line is open between 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.
