Helen & Rolf,
I have been in touch with the cancerbackup.org site and they have sent me several very helpful booklets. Haven't tried MacMillan yet - I suggested to my sister that she might like to talk to someone who understood what she was going through - but she still insists she can manage on her own.
It's less than a week since I last wrote here and, in that time, she has gone quite a bit downhill. She fell (indoors) a couple of days ago and banged her head off the door - that has really shattered her confidence. Said she just got up too quickly from her chair. Her mouth is once again in a bad state and feels 'like mush' and swollen - so she's more or less stopped eating again. (Maybe the reason for her falling?) Think she has thrush in the mouth - so she's been prescribed loads of tablets again + extra steroids. Hopefully when she gets them tomorrow, she'll start to pick up a wee bit. She was very down on the phone tonight - so different from last week-end. She seems to be cutting herself off from everyone, saying she's nothing to say to people.
I am seeing her on Tuesday, so will try then to get her to speak to someone from MacMillan - though I know that she'll probably tell me where to put the phone number! I don't know if she sees it as a weakness to ask for help - but she seems determined to 'go it alone' for as long as possible.
I wish there was something concrete I could do to help her. All I can do is try to stay positive and upbeat - and be there when she needs me. We don't, however, pretend that everything's going to magically come alright.
Hope you are all as doing well.
Shelagh