We don't know if she has it yet, but the doctors she's been tested with have all been pretty serious.

She got sent for an urgent referral a couple days ago because of hard painful lumps in her thyroid, aching bones, hoarse voice, constantly feeling cold. Then she went for an ultrasound, and while it started all jokey, as the doctor found more and more nodules in her neck of different sizes and he became more quiet and serious. She told me she it made her feel sick to look so she stopped after the first few. He told her he would try his hardest to get her seen as soon as he could. Next she'll be sent to get each nodule biopsied.

After her appointment today I had to pretend I didn't hear her crying in her room. It was awful. My mum is only 45. My youngest brother is 7 and she's his carer because he's autistic, he'd be absolutely distraught if she wasn't okay.

I'm in my first year at uni and my other brother has a sixth form scholarship to a boarding school so we wouldn't be home much to look after her or my brother if my dad carries on working to pay the bills and the mortgage. I feel like it'd be my job to step up and look after her but I'm not sure how I could do that with school too. Obviously I love her and I want her to be well but it's so much to do at 18 if she really is sick.

I know it sounds a little selfish, but I'm worried about myself too. She got cervical cancer cells removed at 30 and has had skin cancer 3 times before she turned 40. If this is another cancer diagnosis, I'm worried that she might have a genetic abnormality and that she's passed it onto us, which could put our lives at risk in the same way. 

A lot of uncertainty at the moment and I didn't know where else to turn but this forum. How could I care for her if this really happens? I was too young the first few times she got it to be able to do anything but this could be more serious.