My 95year old mother has recently had surgery to remove a large 3 cm squamous cell carcinoma from her scalp , and had a skin graft which has healed well. 6weeks on at the follow up appointment and after her case went before a multi disciplinary team she was presented with the option of radiotherapy because the margin of healthy tissue left in situ was less than the desired amount and radiotherapy would minimise the risk of recurrence over the next couple of years.
She is finding it stressful trying to make a decision regarding this option ( it is an option and not a necessity) The mental and physical toll of attending 10 days of radiotherapy from her care home is a huge challenge given her age ,fragility and limited mobility.
We would be interested to hear from anyone who has been in a similar situation and welcome any advice and points to considering making this decision.
thank you
Hi Sariosha and a very warm welcome to the Macmillan Community but sorry to hear about your mum.
A cancer diagnosis like this 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……. I have a completely different type of cancer and treatment journey.
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 mum 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.
Do get back to me if you need further help navigating the community.
