Hello this is my first post and I suppose my introduction. I am 39, live in the UK and am married with one daughter.
I had tonsil cancer about three years ago and underwent a radical neck dissection followed by 34 radiotherapy sessions which together cured the cancer. The problem is that the treatment has left big psycological problems especially with short term memory. The thing is now that my mother has been told that she has breast cancer and faces surgury/chemotherapy. This has brought back all of the pain and emotions that I went through at the time and I am now finding it difficult to cope without my wife I think that I would have given in. I suppose what I want are answers to all of the issues that I have but I know that I am not going to get them. Does anyone have similar experiences ?

Hi there.
welcome to the OCF from a fellow Brit,there are a few of us on this site,and along with all the other members i am sure you will find you are not alone with your feelings.

This situation is not something you can cope with alone and my advice would be to contact Macmillan Support.They provide support and counselling for cancer patients,their famiies and survivors.Get proffessional help and try not to be so pessamistic there is always help available and it is not hopeless.

Chin up

Hello,
I was diag. with scc of the left tonsil on 3/9/05 It was stage 3 with mets. to the lymph nodes. I hd 40 rounds of i.m.r.t. 6 weeks x1 of chemo and then a neck disection to top things off. I have short term memory loss also . I went and had many test done and they said everything is fine. I know its not. But I've learned to live with it.Your phycological swings are normal .I have them also. The main thing is to talk them out with whoever you feel comfortable with.There are so many avenues of help out there for you. This is not easy ,cancer affects every part of our being. One of my friends from work passed this past August from cancer it was very tough on me. But I feel one of the reasons for my cancer survival is to help other people with this horrible disease. We became very close in his final month. I believe it's Gods will for you to help your mother thru her journey. That is your purpose.
GOOD LUCK AND AS LIZ SAID CHIN UP