Feeling alone: my best friend and soul mate has been diagnosed with lung cancer and brain lesions

My best friend and soul mate I have lived with for 20 years has been diagnosed with lung cancer and brain lesions. He is waiting for his PET Scan results to find out more and his treatment options. I feel selfish for being scared and emotional. I don't know what I'd do without him. It's the very beginning of his journey and I'm managing to care for him, but I also work. I am on sick currently but work will expect me to return at some point. He has no one else and I don't know what to do and feel so alone. One day life is fine, the next your whole world is rocked and nothing is the same anymore. I hope I can find some strength to support him through the next few weeks of oncology appointments, help him with cooking meals, help him to walk, get washed and dressed, take meds and drive him to his appointments. I feel very alone. 

Parents
  • Hi Erl, I’m reaching out to you as a lot of what you said resonated with me. I am so sorry to hear about your best friend and soul mate’s diagnosis. My partner has recently been diagnosed with lung cancer with secondary tumour in his heart. Has just started chemo. I too work, and am feeling overwhelmed with how to juggle everything. Having initially taken some time off during biopsies and tests, I am now back at work as we try to discover a new rhythm. If the chemo shrinks the tumour in his heart we will be looking at surgery in the autumn. Like you, I feel very alone with all of this, it’s a lot to take in and I want to be there for him. I’m finding it particularly difficult right now to balance sharing my feelings with him and protecting him from my pain. I reached out to MacMillan today to enquire about support groups for family but it seems there’s nothing.

Reply
  • Hi Erl, I’m reaching out to you as a lot of what you said resonated with me. I am so sorry to hear about your best friend and soul mate’s diagnosis. My partner has recently been diagnosed with lung cancer with secondary tumour in his heart. Has just started chemo. I too work, and am feeling overwhelmed with how to juggle everything. Having initially taken some time off during biopsies and tests, I am now back at work as we try to discover a new rhythm. If the chemo shrinks the tumour in his heart we will be looking at surgery in the autumn. Like you, I feel very alone with all of this, it’s a lot to take in and I want to be there for him. I’m finding it particularly difficult right now to balance sharing my feelings with him and protecting him from my pain. I reached out to MacMillan today to enquire about support groups for family but it seems there’s nothing.

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