Hello Roxxie,

Welcome to Cancer Chat. I am so sorry to hear that your husband has been diagnosed with glioblastoma and that it is too large to operate. I hope the radiotherapy treatment goes well for him next week.

It must be such a shock for you and there must be so much to process at the moment. I hope it will bring you a little comfort to talk to others here who are currently going through a similar situation. I did a little search for you and found that [@tango]‍ who posted only a couple of days ago is going through a similar thing at the moment with a partner who has just been diagnosed with Grade 4 Glioblastoma. You can read [@tango]‍ 's thread here and respond to it if you wish and I hope you will both be sharing experiences soon and supporting one another during this difficult time. If you click on 'search forum' on the blue banner and search for "glioblastoma", you will be able to find past  threads which may be relevant to you and which you are welcome to respond to.

Should you have any questions, our nurses are only a free phone call away on 0808 800 4040 and their line is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

We are all here for you whenever you need to chat - so many others here understand how you are feeling and I am sure they will be along soon with some good advice and tips to help you cope with the days ahead.

Best wishes,

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

Hi Roxie

Im so sorry to hear this.  We went through this with my mum.  It's an awful shock for everyone, my mum said it was a death sentence when she had just found out but unfortunately or fortunately whichever way you look at it, because of the nature of this cancer she became unaware of her terminal diagnosis we think (due to memory loss) though cannot be sure.  I would advise recording your children's mundane conversations with him as it is so nice to have these to look back on in the future.  Anything they feel the need to say or ask then it's best they do so as I know I felt glad to have done so. Spend as much time with him as possible and if he is living alone he will need lots of support, I cannot imagine living alone would be possible but of course I guess your ex's tumour could be affecting different pathways to my mums.  Things can change very quickly, sadly fits can be common and could happen any time.  The chemo made my mum really poorly but the radio gave us some extra precious months and allowed us to make some more memories together.  At the end despite my initial reservations, we found a hospice to be so much more comfortable for her than hospital (when staying at home became no longer safe).  My mum and stepdad had a wedding renewal which was a great memory.  I think all you can do is let him know you'll be there for him till the end.  You may find as time goes by he is calm about it as he can't remember exactly what's going on. It's a very cruel disease and my heart goes out to you all.

Hi Roxxie

So sorry to hear this its such a difficult time for all of you. My first husband was diagnosed with a glioblastoma grade 4 12 months after our divorce when our daughter was 13. Unfortunately we were not on particularly good terms which made things very difficult. 

The only advice I can really give you is to keep talking - as a family if you can and include the children. My ex hubby was in complete denial and wouldn’t discuss it with our daughter at all leaving it all to me. He didnt tell her anything and even when he knew the condition was terminal wouldnt face up to it and talk to her. He left no letters for her or special gifts to remember him by.

Good luck and best wishes

Emma