Husband has Secondary Bowel Cancer in his liver

I wonder if anyone can give me some words that can get me through this nightmare. 

My husband was diagnosed 3 years ago with bowel cancer which has now spread to his liver. He recently had half of his liver removed and to date we have been told that the operation was successful and we are now waiting for the results of a CT scan which will tell us if he needs another round of chemo (this will be the 3rd). My husband is very strong and has coped very well almost to the point that you forget he has it. However, having gone through the recent lockdowns that we have had to endure (quite rightly) my husband has completely disowned his daughter  

During the lockdown there had a number of serious disagreements as she is extremely clinically vulnerable but he kept going out playing golf even though she asked him to not go until she moved back into her own house. He refused and hence many arguments prevailed. She has now moved back to her house and since we have found out that his cancer has come back. She has reached out to him on a number of occasions but he wants nothing to do with her. 
 

We are a normal family but we are now broken and I feel at a loss to know how to deal with not only my husbands cancer but also the fact my family has been broken. Is this a symptom of cancer? Can cancer affect emotions to the point that you don't behave in your normal way. My husband idolised his daughter and I don't understand why when we should all be pulling together as a family, he is pushing the family apart. Has anyone else felt like this. Does cancer affect personalities as this is not like him, he can be stubborn but this makes no sense at all. I don't know how to deal with the fact my husband has got cancer and he has been told it will come back and my daughter is not allowed to come home to not only support him but also support me. My daughter is also a doctor so her support is invaluable. As if dealing with cancer isn't bad enough, I'm emotionally wrecked. 

  • Hi Ang2,

    Welcome to Cancer Chat. I'm so sorry to hear of the difficult situation you're in. This sounds incredibly tough and I can only imagine how hard this must be.

    People going through cancer can often behave in seemingly unusual ways - often people on this forum will write about seeing loved ones acting very differently and often in aggressive, angry or strange ways. It may be that this is playing a part in your husband's behaviour towards your daughter.

    It's hard to know how best to navigate this - naturally do what you can to support your husband and also your daughter, and I hope that you are still able to see and speak to your daughter as normal.

    Perhaps you can try speaking to your husband when the time is right about making amends.

    Hopefully this situation will ease in time. Do make sure you're looking after yourself among all this, and keep speaking to other friends and family where you can. We are also always here for support on the forum if ever you'd like to write things down and reach out to others.

    If you would ever find it helpful to talk things through with someone, or to speak more about your husband's behaviour in relation to his treatment, our nurses are available on 0808 800 4040 - Monday-Friday, 9-5.

    Wishing you all the best,

    Ben
    Cancer Chat Moderator