Hi Everyone, I’m new here, and wondered if anyone could give me any help on how to support my dad best.
We were told this week he has six months to live, after living with prostate cancer for 6 years, it came as a total shock to us all, my dad looks so sad every time I look at him, and I find myself crying a lot, which I know is to be expected.
its hard as we lost my mum suddenly 7 years ago, my dad found her, it was awful, he stated to go downhill after, and after many months of being poorly, we found out he had cancer, he has been in and out of hospital constantly since, he found out he had chronic anemia and it took a year to find he had a bleed in his bowel which was eventually sorted, he was also diagnosed with heart failure and kidney disease, and thought we might lose him on a few occasions.
He has stayed so strong over this time, so to see him now is heartbreaking, I have worked in care all my life as well as a hospice, so I know what to expect, and this is making it harder, he has refused anyone to talk to, I have chatted a bit about things as he knows he can talk to me, but I don’t know how I’m going to manage over the months ahead.
I do have siblings but not too much support there, apart from one sister, who is struggling too.
The consultant didn’t really mention what happens next, just told us the news and said he was sorry, and off we went.
Any help would be so appreciated as I know how hard this will get.
Thank You.
Hi Palm Angel and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.
I’m Anne, one of the Community Champions here on the Online Community and, although I'm not a member of this group, I noticed that your post hadn't had any replies yet. Responding to you will 'bump' it back to the top of the discussion list again.
While you're waiting for replies, it would be great if you could put something about your dad's diagnosis and treatment to date into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
