Mandi.... Once again Karen has answered pretty much as I would. Clinical depression is very common in cancer patients. This is not just feeling sad or depressed, though those are the outward signs of it. It is a chemical imbalance of serotonin in your brain. No amount of "cheering up' by friends or family will break it. It requires medication (Serotonin reuptake inhibitors), and professional counseling so that the patient recognizes the situation for what it really is. Biological. Yes we are all scared, and yes we are all depressed and sad part of the time, but clinical depression needs to be treated medically. It is more than "the funk" of realizing that you have just had a very close brush with death. The sooner the better. Before I was on Paxil to help me with this, I was having feelings of not wanting to go on, not caring what happened to me, and feeling that my life was over and there was nothing to look forward to. It took two years to get out of it, but here I am, and life is better than ever. Please get him to see a MD psychiatrist for medication and counseling as soon as possible. If he is a typical guy, you can expect some resistance to this, since we all think we can tough it out through everything....BS, in this case that isn't true. In the future if you are starting a new idea, (which you have) please start by using the "new topic button" If you put a post on a new subject at the end of someone else's post on a non related subject, no one will find it, and it may not be responded to. I am going to close this topic. If you wish to pursue this issue, start a new posting thread.

Brian, stage 4 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director. The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.