My brother was diagnosed 18 months ago with bowel cancer and liver spread, bowel tumour removed, stoma now in situ and liver resection complete. 8 months later he has stage 4 lung and peritoneal mets undergoing palliative chemo at present. 2 weeks ago my dad was very unexpectedly diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer with liver and peritoneal spread. Biopsy taken and we see the oncologist next week. I’m struggling with what I feel at the moment like my world has imploded twice in 18 months. Any support appreciated.x
Hi Gooseygoo22 and a very warm welcome to the Macmillan Community but I am so sorry to hear about the challenges your family is navigating.
Having been on my cancer rollercoaster for over 26 years with 4 different cancers I appreciate that navigating this journey can be such a stressful and challenging time but talking with and getting support from people who have walked or are walking the ‘exact same' support pathway can help 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 family members and indeed yourself you may benefit from joining and posting in our general cancer……
Carers only (if you are specifically a 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 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 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.
