My MIL has been unwell for sometime (despite maintaining a very active life style). In the last few months she became seriously ill, had life saving surgery (which was touch and go). She came through this to discover that in the course of the surgery they discovered cancer. The cancer has now spread to (amongst other places) her bones. She has lost a huge amount of weight and if this continues (which is expected) her organs will fail. The consultant has given her months to live. The whole situation is horrific.
We have 2DC. One is 5, the other 11 and about to start secondary school. How do we begin to tell them what is going on? They know she is unwell, they have seen how weak she is compared to how she was a few months ago. We had wanted to wait until the eldest DD has settled in at school; she is incredibly sensitive and already has huge phobias of loved ones dying. She already knows something is up, I haven't lied to her, I couldn't,
but she doesn't know the diagnosis or prognosis.
How and when should we talk about this? WWUD? Can anyone recommend any good books or information to explain this to my children?
Please or to access all these features
Please
or
to access all these features
Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.
Life-limiting illness
MIL has terminal cancer, how do we tell the children?
9 replies
mumof2andsurviving · 27/08/2018 01:26
OP posts:
Please create an account
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.