Hello Lgilb and a warm welcome to Cancer Chat, 

I am so sorry to hear about your mother's diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. This must have come as a real shock to you but I wanted you to know that we are here for you for support and information. I hope that you will meet others who have had a similar diagnosis or supported a loved one with pancreatic cancer and that they will be along shortly to share their experience with you. 

Congratulations on your new job in Australia! This will surely be a new adventure for you and an amazing professional and personal experience. I can understand though why you are feeling worried that you will be so far away from your mother and that it will not be easy even to arrange phone calls especially with the time difference but I am sure you will make it work and manage to support her even from a distance. Modern technology is great for that these days as you can arrange video calls and see your mum and speak to her. I know though that it's not the same and that you would like to be closer to her physically but I am sure she will know that you are thinking of her and doing what you can from a distance. I hope other members of the forum who have supported their loved ones from a distance will be along shortly to share tips with you based on their personal experiences.

It's always hard to know what to do when it comes to talking to children about cancer especially when it affects someone they love so much. Your little girl is still very small and at 2 years old she may not be able to understand really what is going on. There is some interesting information on our website on talking to children about cancer and Macmillan also has a section here on this subject. I hope this will be helpful to you and that it will help you deal with the situation and protect your daughter. Many members of our forum have been in this delicate position too themselves and I am sure they will have some good suggestions for you based on what worked for them. 

Regarding your mother's treatment, only her medical team will be able to tell you more about the types of chemotherapy she may be getting as this may depend on several factors and on her medical history. We do, however, have a detailed section on our website on pancreatic cancer and you can read more about treatment options for pancreatic cancer including surgery here. 

Our cancer nurses are also just a free phone call away if there is anything you would like to discuss or ask them. You can ring them on this free number 0808 800 4040 Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. 

I hope your mum's chemotherapy treatment works well for her and that the surgery is a success and she makes a quick recovery from it. 

Best wishes, 

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator