Hi,

About a month ago my Mum was diagnosed with incurable stage 4 breast cancer in her lungs. It was an incidental find on another scan and apart from this she is reasonably fit and well. I knew she was having tests done and there was a chance it could be cancer but I never thought it would be the breast cancer she had 15 years ago come back in her lungs. 

She has started treatment (hormone therapy and targeted therapy) and is having some side effects but not too bad yet. They can't cure it so the aim is to just slow the spread.

I don't know how to come to terms with this. I am 24 and my Dad died of terminal cancer (suspected bowel but they were unsure as so spread when they found it) when I was 18 and now I know I'm going to lose my Mum as well.

She lives a few hundred miles away from me so I'm travelling up and down the country a lot to make sure I'm there for her but it's hard to balance with things like work etc.

I am just devastated that I won't have a Mum anymore and that she won't get to live the retirement she wanted. I got through my Dad's death by the skin of my teeth when I was 18 and the thought of doing it all again is just a lot.

Any advice on how to deal with this?