Hi everyone

My mum has recently been diagnosed with bile duct cancer and has been given a poor prognosis. Once thing she's struggling with is keeping in touch with people. She found herself having the same depressing conversation over and over every time she spoke with family or friends - they wanted to know the latest on her diagnosis, or how she was feeling, or whether she was eating etc etc but she just wanted to have more everyday conversations and not have to constantly update people on the medical details. As a result she's picking up the phone less and less.

Does anyone have any practical suggestions of ways to facilitate normal conversations with friends and family, rather than have them dominated by "cancer updates"?

One thing I did think is sending out a weekly email to anyone who was interested so they could be filled in on all the stuff they might feel they want to know but my mum doesn't want to talk about e.g. "Saw xyz doctor. Had xyz test. Don't have any appetite, please don't offer to send me cake. I'm really looking forward to speaking to you soon and hearing about how your week has been"

I'd be really grateful to hear from anyone who's been in a similar situation and found a solution, or just if anyone has any bright ideas. 

Thanks a lot