Hello and thank you for posting.

I'm sorry you are going through this with your mum. It is difficult for me to say exactly what might be happening for your mum at the moment but, what I can say, is that with cancer in different places in her body and her symptoms changing, she does sound like shes starting to get more poorly.

I wonder if you are able to try and speak to her and say you want to understand better what is happening, or speak to your stepdad or stepsister and ask them.

It is very hard when someone is poorly but wants to try and keep information to themselves. She is your mum so she will naturally want to protect you. But sometimes not having all the information makes it more difficult. You could ask her if she minds you chatting with her GP to understand what is happening better.  Your mum would just need to give her consent for her medical information to be discussed. Or, there should be letters from previous appointments, which you could ask her if you could read.

I have placed information here for family when a loved one has cancer.

Take care, and I hope you understand things better soon. You may find it helpful to talk things through with one of the nurses on our helpline.  The number to call is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am till 5pm Monday to Friday.

Sarah.