Depression after father's death

FormerMember
FormerMember
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Hello everyone, 

my post is mainly for children, partners or parents of patitents with PC.

My father died almost 6 yrs ago due to PC aged only 50. It was just devastating, in the middle of August he received a diagnosis, five weeks later he got a stroke and died in the middle of October. It was a real nightmare. From time to time I make a "reasearch" what's new in PC and I can't see no progress and I usualy go to deep depression. Honestly, I am really scared that this cancer is inherited and I don't know what to do with myself. My father was a smoker, but this was the only risk factor - we never had PC in a family before (but we have other types), no diabetes, not overweight, just nothing, that's why i blame the genes. There is also no prevention possible, no genetic testing. I am sorry, i just want to speak with sb in similar situation as I have no one to tell. How do you cope with the loss?

Sorry for my English as I am not a native speaker.

Thanks for reading.

  • Hello Tortuga

    Thank you for bravely sharing your thoughts and anxieties.

    I think it would be beneficial for you to talk to a member of Macmillan Cancer who are familiar with all sorts of emotions and concerns re PC. Their web site is macmillan.org.uk or call them on 0808 808 00 00. The lines are open 7 days a week between 8am and 8pm

    Best Wishes

    Kevin

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember

    HI Tortuga, I'm sorry to hear about your father. We recently asked our oncologist a similar question: my husband (age 55) has pancreatic cancer, and both my father and my maternal grandmother died of it. We asked on behalf of our children: given that their dad, a grandfather and a great-grandmother all had PC? He said no, even that was not sufficient to indicate high risk,,he did not seem to think there was much of a genetic component. Also,  to be fair, my dad was 75 and grandmother was 90.

    I believe that there are some game-changing advances in medicine on the horizon and they are also working on better diagnosis for pancreatic cancer - so although too late for my husband, I'm not too worried for my children