I never imagined i would find myself on a forum like this but less than a week ago I got a phonecall to say my Nana has lung cancer.. and today we found out its also in her bones and spine and that she has been 2-12 months at most depending on what they can or can't treat.
I don't know what to do or how to help my family right now. My mother and brother are really struggling and are looking to me to get them through this and I want to do the best for everyone but this is such uncharted territory for me that I don't even know if anything I'm doing is helping or what I should be trying to do to make sure they are supported.
I also don't know how to support my Nana through this either. The best I've been able to do is to occasionally make her laugh and to make sure I don't break down or get upset around her so that she doesn't have the burden of my grief to add to hers. But I don't know what else to do and I feel so useless right now.
Hi WeeJock a warm welcome to the Macmillan Community but so sorry to hear about your nana’s diagnosis.
A cancer diagnosis in the family like this can be such a challenging and stressful time but getting support from others who are dealing with the ‘exact same' support challenges can help you a lot.
The Community is actually divided into dedicated Support Groups (Discussion Rooms) and when it comes to the practical and emotional challenges of supporting your nana and indeed yourself and the ready of the family you may benefit from joining and posting in our……
Family and Friends (that I do see you have joined)
Carers only (if you are her caregiver)
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.
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 ((hugs))
