My husband has primary liver cancer, he was diagnosed as terminal in July 2025. And the oncologist gave him months to live. In fact he said Christmas!
He has now started to get confused, not all the time but there are marked occasions when he doesn't seem to understand what is going on around him.
He is also a diabetic of 43 years and this morning he actualy forgot how to take a finger prick blood test. I had to explain in detail how to do it.
He has been signed up for palliative care, the nurses are attached to St Barnabas hospice. They have his full details and have given me all phone numbers to contact them when needed. We decided at the first visit that he was not bad enough for regular visits. But to call when he starts getting worse. He can still get himself up washed and dressed. And is eating well. But, I am now wondering, with the confusion my husband is suffering from, if I should get the nurse to visit. He always says he's fine and just had a bit of brain fog. I'm sort of lost and would like some advice if possible as I don't want to call in the busy nurses when it's not really necessary yet.
Hi Halland a very warm welcome to the Macmillan Community but I am so sorry to hear about your husband .
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 husband and indeed yourself you may benefit from joining and posting in our general cancer……
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 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.
As always 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 and 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 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.
Hi again Hall
It looks like you tried to put your post up in the Carers only group but you actually put it back up in this group.
Do copy your text, click on this link > Carers only and put up your post in the carers group.
