Hi Conny,

I hope that you get more answers today. Nobody is ever ready for a diagnosis like this. I have lost both parents and several relatives and close friends to cancer and have had 2 bouts of breast cancer myself. I am no stranger to the heartbreak that it can cause and the sheer panic that it places the entire family in initially.

What ages are your 2 girls? I can fully understand why you feel as you do. Unfortunately, you cannot run away from this. You have to face it head on. Be there for your mum. If you can, try to attend her appointments with her and go to her appointments armed with a list of questions.

She has possibly gone quiet because she doesn't want to worry you any more than she has to. She will also be thinking of her own mortality and may be scared of dying. It can be helpful to ask some leading questions to get all her fears out in the open. It is so much easier to deal with a diagnosis like this if you are both totally open with one another. Drawing up a list of questions for her consultant might help your mum to express some of these fears.

Here's hoping that you get better news today. Please let us kow how you get on. We are always here for you.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx