My partner and I were together for 30 years we split up last year due to his depression and out of character mood swings5 weeks ago he was diagnosed with non small cell lung cancer which is inoperable because of its position on his breathing tubes he is awaiting Palestine treatment with immunotherapy but in the past 5 weeks we have nearly lost him twice once during a stent placement surgery and just last week due to an infection. He is doing well at the moment and doctors hope to start immunotherapy next week. He has been given a prognosis for life of months to short years depending on how treatment goes. The thing is I don’t know how to cope emotionally my emotions are all over the place. He is back living at home as my daughter is his career and we share a house and I wouldn’t have it any other way…. But am really struggling to cope with his diagnosis and my emotions ….
Hi Kezzabear,
Welcome to the forum, what a terrible shock this must have been for you both.
Emotionally, this is a challenging time, I tend to say that it feels like the floor has dropped away from underneath and you have no idea of what will happen next you only have the fear of falling. What I will say is, It's OK to Not Know how to handle the emotions that are running riot, it is OK to feel devastated, or numb, or even lost! What ever it is you are feeling, you will find a way to cope... but please remember that although you may already of almost lost him twice already, which I am sure has sent your emotions reeling even further, it is not set in stone the amount of time given in the prognosis, what we know is that the Medical Professionals will do whatever they can to do the best that they can for him.
Treatment is far more advanced and sometimes the few months become a few years, or maybe even many years, we none of us know, but we can do everything we can to ensure we all live our best lives.
My husband was diagnosed with a different cancer, he had a prognosis of 4 months without treatment or 1 year with treatment, we have now just passed the 2 year mark, he is still having treatment every fortnight, and we have just come back from a weekend camping, something that he has not done since he was 16 (he's nearly 54 now) Keep as positive as you can, embrace every day as a blessing and remember, you have a right to feel a variety of emotions at this time.
Take care of you all
Lowe'
