My mum was diagnosed with lung cancer in April this year. She had a lot of pain in her left arm snd we originally thought it was coming from her scar from previous breast cancer .. . She started on radiotherapy in May snd we were awaiting a scan to see what the next treatment was. Mum otherwise is incredibly fit and nothing else wrong with her. Well 2 weeks ago her leg collapsed and she lost bladder control. Her tumour hadn’t responded to radiotherapy at all and has grown into her spinal cord. She is paralysed from mid chest down and they said there’s nothing else that can be done. I’m absolutely devastated. I’m in shock and totally heartbroken. I feel sick all the time. She is too sore to sit in a wheelchair because the pain is horrific when they try to move her and from being so active to being stuck in bed is awful to watch. They say that if they increased her painkillers then she would be sleepy . Mum still wants to be able to chat snd do her crosswords snd watch a bit of TV . I’m waiting for consultant phoning me back. The ward mum is on is run by GP s and I feel they the staff think it’s unusual for me to want to talk to the consultant about prognosis and expectations. The consultant apparently hadn’t visited the ward since before covid . I just feel a bit let down and lack of communication is not good. Maybe it’s because I work in the medical field myself , you get a lot less info bring a relative ! Any ideas about coping skills, how to keep my spirits up for mum would be appreciated xx
Thank you juicestool for taking the time to reply with such a lovely message. I spoke to the consultant on Monday snd she was really lovely and answered my questions. Mum seems 
more settled the last couple of days snd seems to be getting used to the new ‘ normal ‘ routine, it still sickens me to see her being unable to move , but my mum is incredibly strong snd brave. We are looking at old photos snd taking my daughter in to see her and taking tasty nibbles for her . I just hope they can continue to manage her pain . I lost my lovely dad too 5 years ago with cancer . It’s so incredibly hard. Sending my love to you too xx
