Hi, my partner paul has been recently diagnosed with a stage 4 glioblastoma. Hes had an awake craniotomy to remove the tumour, however we got told a couple of weeks ago this type of cancer is very aggressive and almost always has a tendency to come back even with treatment.
His prognosis isn't great, and im still trying to get my head around the fact that all this has happened in such a short space of time. Hes due to start radiotherapy and chemotherapy in 9 days for his first part of his treatment, which will be over 30 days.
I'm just so lost right now, unbelievably scared of how he will be with the treatment, hoping it will work at the same time to add more months or years onto his life.
Hes handling it all the best way he knows how, by thinking ive got no choice I have to do what I need to do. I couldn't be more proud of anyone in my whole life
I'm just so scared of how im going to help him over the next few months with his treatment? Alot of the time there will be just me and him and I know it sounds silly, but overnight im not just his partner anymore. I'm his carer also. I need some advice on how I can be the best I can be for him without having a nervous breakdown worrying that the house isn't clean enough, that hes eating/drinking enough, well, everything.
Any advice would be welcome x
Hi Poppet178a0a and a warm welcome to the Macmillan Community but so sorry to hear about your partner Paul’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) 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 Paul and indeed yourself you may benefit from joining and posting in our……
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 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.
