About my son .

This is my first post . About my eldest son . Age 39 . We found out at Christmas , that he has brain tumours . He was first diagnosed in 2016 . Summertime . He sadly said nothing to us , as his dad was going through his own health issues , so didn't want to add to our stress . How upset we felt , that he carried on alone . Commencing radiotherapy sessions three times a week . By Xmas , I managed to find out and he told us all . Having thought the tumour had shrunk , we were devastated to find out that it had returned over Xmas period , along with a second tumour . The diagnosis of cancer type is Anaplastic Astrocytoma . A fast growing type of tumour . Since then he has had a PET scan at end of January , which sadly showed a total of 5 tumours . How hard this has been to take in , and more importantly , we feel more upset for our son . He is a quiet young mam , always has been . So to get him to talk about things is not easy . We feel that we must keep a brave face on in front of him . To always be positive in our conversations . One weekend , we had the difficult situation of trying to find out if he had sorted out his affairs . Will , insurances , solicitor etc . Never thought , we would have to ever have this conversation with our son . He has 2 beautiful daughters , too young to know anything . Anyway , to the job in hand . Ongoing radiotherapy 3 times a week . Monthly scans , and hopefully , he will get signs of shrinkage . Surgery has not been an option . Our issues are having to put on brave faces for our son , but , deep down , we are struggling . So if we feel this bad , what must our son really be feeling like ? I am a nurse , and still struggle to function . It is effecting even our sleep etc .There is so much more to think about . How can we help him ? Try to keep positive , but not getting any hoprful news yet . 

  • Welcome to Cancer Chat, virgo54. I'm so sorry to hear about your son's diagnosis - it sounds like an incredibly tough time for you all. And with everyone in the family trying to remain strong, it's understandable that you might be struggling. 

    I found some information about talking to family about cancer on our website, so I'm including a link here in case it's of help. 

    You'll find many other people here on the forum who have family members going through treatment. Hopefully, someone who's in a similar situation will be along soon to talk. Please do feel free to join in with other discussions too. 

    Finally, our team of nurses are also available (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm) on 0808 800 4040 (free from a UK landline) if you have any questions.

    Keep in touch, and do let us know how you're getting on.

    Best wishes,

    Helen

    Cancer Chat Moderator