My husband has recently been diagnosed with cancer in his right kidney. It's taken 6 weeks to reach this point as initially they thought he had a chest infection and he was prescribed two lots of antibiotics. They now say the cancer has spread to his lungs and he's having a needle biopsy with CT scan on Friday. While the wait goes on he has a worsening cough and is in increasing discomfort. I wanted to ask if anyone else has experienced such a long wait in getting treatment started. 6 weeks of worrying and uncertainty is taking its toll on both of us. The doctor said they can't start any treatment until after the lung biopsy when they're clearer about what's going on. The process seems so incredibly slow and I'm watching him deteriorate which
Hi Pisces and a very warm welcome to the Macmillan Community but sorry to hear about your husband and your concerns about the time this is all taking. Unfortunately this is happening a lot due to the significant pressure on our NHS is under. But even back in 1999 when I was diagnosed with my first type of incurable Lymphoma it actually took a year to find the truth.
A cancer diagnosis like this 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 groups.
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 husband and indeed yourself you may benefit from posting in our……
Carers only (that is see you have already joined)
……. 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.
Do get back to me if you need further help navigating the community.
