Hi Rona, 

Thank you for coming here and sharing your story. It's amazing that despite a prognosis of 3-6 months, your cancer has been reduced so much that it is not visible. It sounds like you responded really well to treatment and I hope that continues and that it stays dormant. I was so moved by your story. It's hard enough having to deal with your own stage 4 lung cancer, defying your prognosis which is incredible but then poor you being hit by the tragic news that your son died suddenly in an accident. Nothing prepares any parent for this and what an immense tragedy at a time when you yourself are extremely vulnerable and having to live with cancer and often with the impact that treatment can have. 

I am so sorry to hear that on top of all that, your husband has recently been diagnosed with stage 4 oesophageal cancer . This must have come as a shock to you and at the moment there is so much uncertainty still for you as you are waiting to find out what treatment he might have and what the prognosis is. While you are waiting to get all the details, we have information on our website on treatment for oesophageal cancer. Hopefully the PET scan will provide some answers and I hope that you won't have to wait too long for the results. 

It's such a tough situation to be in yourself having to deal with your own cancer diagnosis as well as battling depression and anxiety while wanting to be here to support your husband. It's important that you also manage to take care of yourself and that you get all the support you can get so that both you and your husband are not fighting all this alone. I hope that you have family and friends around you to help you during this difficult time. Talk to your GP maybe about support that may be available to you in your area and mention the fact that you are two stage 4 cancer patients in need of support; this may be things like practical support you could get to help you and you can find out more on our website about support available at home for you and your family and I also suggest you read our information on who can help. 

We also have a helpline you can ring - it is free and our cancer nurses may have further guidance for you. Don't hesitate to give them a call on this free number 0808 800 4040 and you can ring them Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. Sometimes it helps to just talk to someone when it all feels a bit overwhelming. 

I will now let other members of our community who have been in a similar place come and say hello and share their own thoughts or stories with you. You are not alone and the forum is always here for you any time you need to offload.

Best wishes to you and to your husband, 

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator