help my mum get through her cancer treatment

Mum had a CAT scan and the cancer cells are back, they’ve also spread to her lungs. It’s inoperable and any further radiation would just make her sick and stop her wounds from healing. After getting over the shock we’ve just got to pull together and have a happy time for her last few months. After seeing her go through so much it seems so unfair to hear this now. 4 years ago

After 12 weeks in hospital my mum is coming home! We found out yesterday and I cannot describe how relieved and happy it made me. The wounds will still need treatment so she’ll have daily visits from a nurse, and her movement is still severely restricted so she will have to do exercises to improve mobility. We’re not sure if she’s beaten the cancer this time, but this is a real step forwards in her recovery. She had to have another blood transfusion last night, so next time I have the opportunity I will certainly be donating blood again.
I am so thankful for the nurses, doctors and surgeons that have helped to look after my mum, and I am grateful that the NHS is available and has provided dedicated care. 4 years ago

Mum’s been in hospital for almost 6 weeks now. She’s had various other problems and complications since the op but she is getting to do a little more now. She’s having physiotherapy to help her regain strength and start walking properly. She’s lost so much weight and been in bed so long that she can hardly stand. The open wounds on her thighs don’t help that either becasue she can’t stand up straight. It’s really upsetting to see how she has changed and I can only hope that the treatment works this time. 4 years ago

Mum went into hospital about 2 weeks ago for the operation but we’ve finally been told that they think it may have been successful. It’s not for definite – only time will tell that – but it’s good to hear some positive news. The surgery took almost 8 hours and because she is still left with open wounds she will have to have more smaller operations to keep it clean and help with healing. The recovery will be slow, but they are doing a grand job looking after her and the pain in being controlled fairly well.
She had to have several blood transfusions and it’s made me want to donate again so I’ll try and do this through work sometime. 4 years ago

After a lot of time with nothing happening and no definite answers, we’ve now been told that mum will have to go into hospital next week. On Wednesday she’ll be have all the prep done and they want to monitor her a bit. Then Thursday is the actual day of the operation. It is a huge op, they said it will take all day and there is a lot of ‘work’ to be done. The doctors reckon she’ll have to stay in for 2 weeks until she recovers enough to come home again. It’s scary but I feel relieved knowing that something is being done and there is a plan of action now. 4 years ago

We recently found out that the cancer has returned. Her scan showed that it hasn’t spread, which means that it is quite likely they will operate to remove the remaining tumours. The chemo and radiotherapy really hit mum quite hard and she is obviously still weak and lost a lot of weight afterwards. Her consultants are meeting tomorrow to decide on the treatment so it’s not long til we find out what’s happening. I feel I can be a bit more open about it with my mum and dad. We’re all scared but at least we can talk about it together.

In the meantime, I’m helping myself out with a little theraputic project. The picture above is of a cross stitch kit I ordered see here for more info http://www.subversivecrossstitch.com/kits/fuckcancer.html
It’s nice to take your frustration out on somthing inanimate. 4 years ago

Mum had her first checkup since the treatment finished and the doctor confirmed that the tumour is almost totally gone now, which is such a huge relief. She’s going back in six weeks, so I have my fingers crossed for more good news. 5 years ago

My mum has finished her last day of treatment so I went to visit her in the hospital. She seemed well enough apart from whatever drugs they are using were making her really spaced out and she couldn’t hold a conversation very well. They want to keep her in for a few more days just to monitor how she is doing and I can’t wait til she is home again.

I don’t really feel that I have helped my mum very much during her treatment. The housework and cooking wasn’t that hard and my dad did a lot of it as he got signed off work while mum’s been in hospital. I have a lot of stuff going on in my life aside from mum’s illness, so every time I went to see her she would ask me how everything was going and I would spend most of the visit going on about all my problems. She has always wanted to help me through any problems I have and she said that thinking about my worries took her mind off her own so I guess it is good in a way. She also said it was just nice to see me and spend time together.

Mum will have to go back for checkups and tests in 4 weeks, and a few more times after that. I’m hoping that she will be able to relax over Christmas. 5 years ago

Mum is now in the third week of her treatment (out of five and a half). She had to stay in the hospital for two weeks because she caught a bug but she came home on Friday night and it was fantastic. She seems ok apart from being weak and nauseous, so that’s not bad considering the huge amount of possible side effects.
I don’t know what is going through her head at any given time, but she has her mind set that now she is home everything will be normal and is getting annoyed that she’s not strong enough to go round cleaning the house! Obviously I can’t wait until she’s better, but I just feel like she really doesn’t understand how ill she is. Maybe she is in denial or something. But seriously, I do feel like pointing out the fact that over the past seven days she has had a blood transfusion (6 pints!), radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and some kind of virus/bug that they were treating with the strongest antibiotics they have (the stuff they use for MRSA!). I just don’t understand how she can expect everything to be normal. 5 years ago

Just over a week since mum’s first op and she is healing up really well. She is a lot happier now that she can run around (not literally!) and do more things for herself again. She is seeing a consultant tomorrow to derermine the course of treatment that she will be having. 5 years ago

All you can do is be there there is n othing physical that can be done but with a little hope, a little luck, and a lot of prayer your loved one makes it through, my mom has had cancer 3 times vulvarian twice and colo-rectal once cancer my mom now has a colostomy bag and will for the rest of her life and each time i wished that i could take her place and each time shes made it through and hopefully will never get cancer again and if you ever need to talk because it sounds like your mom has a similar cancer to what my mom had feel free to message me and in the meantime your mom and yourself will be in my prayers 5 years ago

It finally hit me how serious this is. Up until now my mum had been carrying on as normal and had still been fairly active. On Tuesday she went into hospital to have a stoma(sp?) fitted and my dad and I went to visit her yesterday. It was awful seeing her, she could hardly move because of the pain and she seemed so weak and fragile. It felt worse because this op was supposed to make her more comfortable and she hasn’t even started the proper treatment yet. I can’t imagine how hard it will be for her going through chemo- and radio-therapy. Hopefully she will be well enough to come home in a few days time. 5 years ago

Mom had stage 4 naso-pharyngeal cancer in 1998. She lived with me for three months while having daily radiation and frequent chemo. It was awful – she lost 60 pounds, had to have a feeding tube – completely lost herself. But she lived, and she’s still my mom – just without saliva glands! Afterward I volunteered as a driver for the American Cancer Society. 5 years ago

Mum is coping really well at the moment and I am proud that she is being so brave.
The hardest thing she has to do at the moment is figure out how to tell my nan and grandad about it. They live a 2-hour drive away from us and mum isn’t up to travelling that far, so I think my dad is going to go down and see them.
As for me, I am getting a lot of support from everyone. It helps a lot and is truly appreciated. 5 years ago

My mum found out that she has cancer last Friday night. I am going to try my best to make things as easy for her as possible, and I will try and keep things together for the sake of my family. She is going in for scans today and will get the result tomorrow, so then we’ll know what specific treatment will be required. 5 years ago