My Dad had a total nephrectomy in Feb 24. He was only in hospital for two days and was up and at 'em within 4-6 weeks. He was 88 then.
Fast forward to Jan this year and his follow up scans showed a very small, slow growing tumour on his lung. His health wasn't affected and at 90 he is still very active, able and independent.
For the last two months his left foot has been going dead and this is now having a massive impact on his ability to walk any length and he even struggles to stand on it sometimes. There is no pain, he just says it feels dead.
The GP feels it may be mechanical but I am concerned it is cancer related. It is now becoming a daily problem and he has become unbalanced and fallen on at least two occasions (that he's told me about!). Should I ring the renal cancer nurses and have a chat with them or would that be wasting their time?
Hi MJC and a warm welcome to the Macmillan Community but I am sorry to hear about your dad….. going through what has has been through at his age is rather remarkable.
I know from experience having been on my cancer journey for over 26 years with two very rare, hard to treat types of Non Hodgkin’s Lymphomas (one incurable), Asbestosis and recently Prostate Cancer that navigating this journey can be such a stressful and challenging time.
When it comes to unanswered issues especially when a GP is not certain you always call your hospital team to check in with them….. and you are never wasting their time…
I am always told to check in with them as they would rather hear about new issues sooner rather than later and end up trying to catch something that has developed.
Supporting a family member can be hard work so talking with and getting support from people who have walked or are walking the ‘exact same' treatment journey, be it as a patient or caregiver can help 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 dedicated…….
……. support group.
These groups are safe places 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 dad and indeed yourself you may benefit from joining and posting in our general cancer……
Carers only (if you are his caregiver)
……. 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.
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 and give support to all the family.
Do get back to me if you need further help navigating the community.
