Dad has bladder cancer

I am struggling to cope with my dad's recent diagnosis. He has been told he has cancer of the bladder which is a rare form and can't be treated with chemo. They have stated that he would need a huge operation to remove it and the operation itself a poses huge risks. He's 74, and gone from being a giant of a man to a frail fragile man loosing weight. It's destroying me inside, I'm a only child and my mums not in the best of health. I feel scared when I know I need to be strong. He can't bring himself to talk about any of it. I don't know how long he has and just wish I could do something to make the whole situation better. I bottle my emotions up and feel alone. .

  • Hi InTheDark,

    Sorry to read about your dad. You have joined a friendly forum. I have lost several close family members to cancer over the years. I felt just the same as you when my mother was suffering but there was nothing I could do to stop cancer taking my mother except to be there for her as much as I could.

    At least on here you can let others know how your feeling and let loose some of those pent up emotions that build up at times like this. Hope by posting on here you dont feel so alone, Brian.

  • Thank you for taking the time to respond and offer some reassurance. That's the part that angers me the most being so helpless and not being able to help or make it go away. At the moment the topic of dads illness is banned from the house. I get the impression dad is trying to deal with it in his head first all be it he's never been one to open up.