No one teaches you how painful grief is

Hi there 

my name is sian, I’m 23 and live in plymouth. I am a healthcare worker so have come across cancer I’m many forms many times. However June of this year, my boyfriends amazing brother was diagnosed with cancer of the liver. Shocked as a family, we kept him upbeat and were positive things would be okay. Doctors themselves said they were confident he would beat this. A week after that he had lost so much weight, was jaundice, could barely walk, eat or even get comfortable. It was that week we were told his liver was destroyed and he was going to die. We were told months. A few days later it was his 30th birthday, we had a huge party and it was such a special night. He had been planning this night for months so nothing was going to spoil it, not even cancer. Plans were made for him to come home to die and be with his family, however he died in the early hours of the day we were bringing him home in hospital. 5 days after his birthday, a week after being told he was going to die. Nothing felt real, it still doesn’t. My boyfriends family are broken, I feel helpless and don’t know what to say/do. All I want to do is cry and curl up in a ball. Although I feel guilty for being upset because I should be the strong one for my boyfriend. His brother was like a best friend to me, losing him broke my heart into a million pieces and right now I don’t feel like it is ever going to get better or easier. I cry and cry and cry, to the point I panic and struggle to breath. My stomach hurts and my heart aches. No one could ever prepare me for this pain and I don’t know what to do to get better. I’m hoping that speaking with others will help me in some way.

  • Hi Sian,

    I totally agree with your title for this thread. As well as having had and recovered from prostate cance rmyself, I have lost twelve family members to cancer over the years. Thisincludes my mother who lived in the Soth of England and my father who lived in Canada. To see my mother who was always so fit and active slowly deteriate to a point where she didnt recognise me when I went to see her was so painful. Allthough when I used to hold her hand she squeezed my so I felt she was aware someone was there.

    I can assure you the pain does get less in time as we slowly adjust to a life that will never be quite the same for there is someone missing from our life. But after a few months, I noticed that every now and then, I would say or do something and i would realize it was exactly what my mother would have said or done and I found this comforting.

    I hope that the simple act of writing down how you feel will help as its not always easy to tell even those close to us how we feel. In fact its often easier to talk to strangers on this forum.

    I have learnt that in life we never know what is just around the corner so we should always let those we love know it.

    Sending kind thoughts and sympathy your way, Brian.

     

  • Hi there sian .... life can sure throw you a curve ball ... especially as it all happened so quickly ... when something like this hits you , it makes it a reality that life and people we love can be taken from us in the blink of an eye ... and throws everything we know up in the air ... 

    even though it was your bro in law , the pain can be just as great ... I've lost lots of people in my life , and one of the hardest to come to terms with , was my nieces husband who was 27 at the time .... he ate something that upset his stomach and in the middle of the night choked on his sick ... he left 2 small little ones 3 and 10 months ... we were all in shock ... and still brings back memories of disbelief...

    its hard to come to terms with because they were so young ... your other half will need you now ... talk , cry and hold on to each other ... while taking care of your heart too ... big hug Chrisie xx

  • How true that statement is "no one teaches you how painful grief is" and when you have not experienced it you think. " I will cope" how naive we are with our feelings. Xx