Hi Eve,

Welcome to Cancer Chat. Firstly I'm very sorry to read about your mum. This sounds like an incredibly tough situation. I hope you're getting on as well as possible and that you're able to take care of yourself too. Do use this forum as much as you'd like going forward for any support or advice, or simply as a safe space to write down any thoughts or worries.

In terms of your brother, this sounds a little tricky. It sounds like you can be confident that you're doing everything right, and his reaction and attitude is perhaps more to do with his way of coping, as you've suggested yourself. Maybe you could try to speak to him sooner rather than later; if you have concerns about the future and also what's going on at the moment, you could bring this up with him - perhaps writing down the things you'd like to say first. Alternatively you could simply look to re-establish contact through more casual dialogue to begin with, if appropriate.

This isn't to say you should necessarily be the one doing this as it sounds more like it's him who has been responsible for these particular difficulties, but it could help to alleviate any worries and it's a proactive step.

My reply here will boost your post so that more people will see it, and if anyone here has other advice to offer then hopefully they'll be along soon.

Take care and wishing you all the best,

Ben
Cancer Chat Moderator