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Dad has terminal cancer, I am 18 and halfway through my A-levels.

j.harlow06
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My dad had esophageal cancer last year but was declared cancer free 1 year ago. They detected some nodules in his lungs during his yearly check up and got him a CT scan. His cancer survived the chemo, which was one of the most aggressive ones, and has now spread all over and is inoperable. He has been given 6-12 months.

I am currently in the midst of my A level exams and i am finding it impossible to do any revision at the moment. my mood keeps fluctuating hugely and i struggle to do anything other than scroll through social media and distract myself from reality. I'm becoming increasingly stressed about my last exams as i have an athletic scholarship to the USA for university lined up, but i need to get 3 As to pass through the admissions. 

How do i make myself revise and get on with my life? 

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    I went through a similar thing - my dad was terminal and I was at the end of my professional exams to qualify. It's difficult to give an answer that will you help but my only bit of advice is...think about what your dad wants for you and try and use that as a focus to move forward. Your dad will want you to have the best possible life beyond this and this is the start of that for you. As difficult as it is, try allocate quality personal time to create memories during this time too. 

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    As a college and university tutor, please don't think that you have to 'get on' with it. Let those who need to know (college) know what is going on, tell them how you feel and that you have absolutely no idea how it might affect you. No one does.   then just do your absolute best. You may find that with a bit of pressure off you do as well as you would have done otherwise. Ask the scholarship team to keep an open mind here; I am sure they will as much as they can. 

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