Hi, I am currently caring for my mother who has sclc. Like a lot of people, my life has been touched by cancer in a BIG way. I lost my Dad to prostate cancer in 2009. Then last year my brother in law died from renal cancer after a five year fight. Following his death my Father in Law, who lived with us, got a strange illness where all his skin blistered. He was diagnosed with Bullous Pemphigoid which is an auto-immune disorder. Whilst we were dealing with that, my husband had what we thought was a nervous breakdown. It turned out to be the onset of Parkinson's Disease. That has been brought under control with a drug regime. However it did result in him losing his driving licence which is only just being restored to him. Towards the end of last year my husband and I decided to do a big downsize and sell our house and move into a semi-sheltered scheme. It took forever, as these things do. In the meantime, father in law who had also been unwell on and off was having tests at the doctors and hospital. Two weeks before we were due to move, my mum was diagnosed with her SCLC. Having been told it was terminal and that she might have, at best without treatment, a couple of months, I quit my job and went to stay with her to do what I could to help her. After the initial shock and getting the District Nurse, Macmillan and all that sorted, I was able to pop home for a few days to move house. 

The move went smoothly enough and I returned to mum. We got her blue badge and her attendance allowance sorted. We became ladies who lunch, very often at garden centres as she loves her garden. All seemed to have returned to normal when... Father in Law had to go to hospital for results of a liver biopsy. We had already discussed that it was unlikely to be good news, so he was prepared for the inevitable diagnosis of liver cancer arising from the bile duct. So this left me desperately trying to split my time between two terminally ill people who were also 65 miles apart. Looking back now, I'm not sure how I managed it, and if it hadn't been for mummy being reasonably well at the time, I don't think I could have done it.

i returned home for a week as fil was not eating or drinking enough and was deteriorating. We got the doctor out to him who diagnosed a chest infection. Despite antibiotics he continued to go downhill until finally we decided we could no longer meet his needs at home. Off he went into hospital where he died four days later from pneumonia.

Now it is back into the routine with mum who despite the initial couple of months prognosis remains reasonably well. We are looking at her moving house to be nearer to us, but it is difficult to know whether it is worthwhile at this stage. If anyone has a crystal ball going spare, give us a lend please! We soldier on.