Year of the Lump
The year I was diagnosed with and received treatment for breast cancer I kept a diary/blog which was rather long winded, but a great help to me psychologically. It can be found at this link: yearofthelump
I thoroughly recommend the process of writing at times like this, especially for those like myself who are alone, or those that are unable to express their feelings to others for fear of upsetting or offending.
Through no fault of their own, families are not always able to be what we'd wish them to be at such times...we sometimes just have to support ourselves!
Comments
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Well Elizabeth, i Have just been and read your year of the lump, Well done, they say writing helps the healing.
Didnt leave any comments on the blog, thought i would let people here know it is well worth reading.
Regards Moira
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Thanks Moira...I appreciate the feed back. Pretty scary putting that personal stuff out there, but when you don't know what the future holds you get courageous! Hope all is going well with you. Cheers, Lizzy
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Have just returned from three weeks in Melbourne helping to nurse my brother who is dying of a GBM (brain tumour). On one level it was a heart breaking experience...
This type of cancer is almost 100% fatal. Radiotherapy grants time but often steals away abilities, leaving the person so disabled that quality of life is radically reduced. A support network exists but it is nothing like what we have with BCNA. It really highlights what has been achieved in the past decade to improve Breast Cancer survival and quality of life.
But - the heartbreak not withstanding - there were moments of great beauty and something like joy in nursing my brother. Although his situation is grim, his spirit throughout has remained strong and philosophical - consistent with his whole life. (We die as we have lived, perhaps.) Though he can't speak or move much, his personality has remained largely unaffected by the tumour or the damage caused by radiotherapy - I gather not all are so lucky. While he could still speak he expressed his acceptance of his 'fate'. He recognised that everybody dies and none of us can choose when. It's how we approach it that counts.
His patience and courage have been inspirational. It's been a privilege to be with him, to cook and care for him and for his other carers - to hold his hand - to rub his feet - to read him snatches from the sports pages.
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Sorry to hear about your brother Lizzy, and it sounds like he is a brave considerate man, i too am going through helping my father in law who has terminal, in the lung and chest, and not long to go, living in a rural area there are no support groups, and we have to travel 650k's one way to get to the hospital in Adelaide. this makes it all the more meaningful to have people on here who have gone through breast cancer, and know exactly what that journey really means, Best Wishes Moira
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Oh Moira, I do feel for you having to travel such distances. My brother, who is also a rural man, has been able to stay with his father-in-law in Melb, saving him and his wife some exertion. (It would have been impossible to travel due to his level of disability anyway) but the down side of this is the loss of familiar things and the distance family now have to travel in order to be with him, to help out, or in the case of our 93 year old dad, just to say goodbye. Let's hope those much feted Independents now in govt. accomplish some of their aims on our remote behalf! Will be thinking of you over there, as we continue this archetypal journey.
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