Aunt diagnosed with Cancer

[Aquamarine70]

Just had some bad news Dh's Aunt (his mum's sister) has been diagnosed with lung cancer & it has spread to her spine. She has been ill for weeks and had to wait ages for scans & tests. She is going to have a Bronchoscopy next week & will be having chemo. Mil is in a terrible state. Does anyone have any advice as we all in shock?

So sorry to hear about your aunt,
I would say that the worst thing is the waiting for results etc, I found that once we knew exactly what we were facing everyone seemed to handle things better,
I think it's the unknown that freaks everyone.
I would recommend talking to Macmillan, your aunt should be given a phone number and any member of the family can ring if they don't understand any of the treatment etc
I would also say talk to each other, much comfort can be found by sharing things, you don't say how old your aunt and Mil are but in my experience, the 'older' generation see cancer differently, it's now not the death sentence it used to be,
The Drs really can work wonders these days, my dear father is proof of that!
and ((((hugs)))

Thank you for replying. That is helpful advice. The Aunt is 69. We spoke to MIl today & it's not good news as she said her sister has found another in her thigh. We will know this week of the treatment & prognosis. We live in Australia so can only offer support as best as we can. I will tell Mil that she can speak to the Macmillian nurses if she needs to. Thank you.

It is true that many, many things can be done for those with cancer nowadays. I will second the advice on encouraging your MIL to talk to Macmillan. And keep the lines of communication strong between you, your DH and your MIL.

But on another note, can I suggest something practical? This may not be what you want to hear but one must be practical in such situations. As you are in Australia (I assume your MIL is in the UK) there could be a time when your DH at least may need to come back to the UK to be his mum. So now would be a good time to make sure that there is an emergency fund in case he needs to fly back at short notice. That passports are up to date, that annual leave from work is saved up.a bit if possible. This will then make it much easier on your DH if he needs to get back to his mum ASAP.

I'm really sorry that you've had bad news

To be with his mum

Thanks Finola1step. DH's dad died last year so he had to return to the UK for the funeral. Unfortunately we don't have any funds for any of us to go back as it's so expensive & I was made redundant from my job a few months ago. Mil has Bil near so will have someone for support. I will tell her that she can speak to the Macmillian nurses if she needs to.