Hi!  First post here, so be gentle with me!  My mum has had an op for a FIGO stage 3C vulvular carcinoma, which was diagnosed and treated very quickly with surgery.  However, post-op CT showed some lymph nodes still affected and radiotherapy has been withdrawn as an option because it'll probably do more harm than good.  She now has a possbile infection in one of the lymph nodes and is feeling quite demoralised and defeatist about the whole situation.  Understandable, as she's only just had a quadruple heart bypass 12 months ago and thought she was going to be able to get back on with her life before cancer was found.

That was a bit long-winded, but I guess I just wanted to ask if anyone thought it would be a good idea for her to be able to talk to/write letter (I know, real letters, using the postman and everything!  She's 80 and a bit/lot of a technophobe!) to someone who has gone through something similar?

As far as I know, she's not been given any long-term prognosis and has possibly got the wrong end of the stick about her current status.  I live over 250 miles away and she's got no other family or friends living nearby who could offer support.  Does it help to talk to others?  Is it better to get more professional (i.e. GP) advice first?  What can I do to create a support network for her?  Any advice gratefully received!

Touchstone42