| Joined: May 2021 Posts: 4 Member | OP Member Joined: May 2021 Posts: 4 | From my post in the other thread, some of you probably know that my mom was diagnosed with Stage 2 Tongue Cancer and is starting treatment.
She has never set foot in a hospital before (even for childbirth). So the combination of "first time nerves", cancer diagnosis, her overt focus on the stress she's causing her caregivers (my dad mainly, and me) and other problems with our family situation (I, her son, haven't settled down in life, my dad has health issues himself etc etc) mean that she's extremely depressed.
It's heartbreaking to hear end-of-life talk from someone who has been a cheerful, bubbly, positive character for most of my life. How do I console her? This is all the more terrifying because she just barely started treatment -- from what I've read online, it doesn't look good at all for the next coming months (chemo, rads and side effects etc).
I'm trying to be positive but I've been diagnosed with depression myself in past so I'm not the warm center I ought to be (for her sake). It all feels very dark and suffocating. Just where do we derive the inspiration and positivity from? | | | | Joined: Oct 2012 Posts: 1,275 Likes: 7 Assistant Admin Patient Advocate (1000+ posts) | Assistant Admin Patient Advocate (1000+ posts) Joined: Oct 2012 Posts: 1,275 Likes: 7 | I’m sure your mom is scared. No one wants to be told the diagnosis is cancer and the treatment plan and side effects. If she is at a cancer center, she should have access to the Guidance Department. When my husband was in treatment, a volunteer at the hospital told me to trust the doctors, that they know what they are doing. She also told me to go talk to someone at the Guidance Department.
Other than that, I found that the best way of dealing with the stress is to take it one day at a time. If John had to have an MRI, then we went but we did not then allow our minds to fly to the results on that day. We had to wait for the doctor’s visit and then we would be told. There was no point in fretting as it would only exacerbate the stress. The mindset took me through multiple tricky situations over three years. That’s probably the best way to deal with it.
Wishing you all the very best!
Gloria She stood in the storm, and when the wind did not blow her way, she adjusted her sails... Elizabeth Edwards
Wife to John,dx 10/2012, BOT, HPV+, T3N2MO, RAD 70 gy,Cisplatinx2 , PEG in Dec 6, 2012, dx dvt in both legs after second chemo session, Apr 03/13 NED, July 2013 met to lungs, Phase 1 immunotherapy trial Jan 18/14 to July/14. Taxol/carboplatin July/14. Esophagus re-opened Oct 14. PEG out April 8, 2015. Phase 2 trial of Selinexor April to July 2015. At peace Jan 15, 2016. | 1 member likes this:
SonOfTCMom | | | | Joined: Aug 2020 Posts: 142 Likes: 34 Assistant Administrator Senior Member (100+ posts) | Assistant Administrator Senior Member (100+ posts) Joined: Aug 2020 Posts: 142 Likes: 34 | Dear Son of TC Mom
So sorry you are both going thru this. It is scary. I went thru Stage 4 surgery and radiation treatment last year. They took basically half my tongue and all my lymph nodes on the associated side of my neck. The doctors, of course, have to warn you of all the potential negative results. Which makes it even scarier.
Recovery from surgery was intense but quicker than that from radiation. I could see improvement nearly every day after surgery but radiation was more like every week or longer. Radiation also wasn't as intense a process. But, I am happy to share with you that I am a year out and most people would never know unless I told them. My speech is pretty good and I can eat most foods again. My scars healed fairly well.
Some of the tools that helped my mood. Weekly calls or zoom meetings with different friends and family. Journalling/writing both my thoughts and my medical notes. Practicing faith and prayer (different for most, so whatever that means to you). Yoga, walks, jogging, surfing, biking, whatever your favorite way is to get outside and experience the joy of nature. Dancing. I would play my favorite music in the hospital and do a super simple dance next to the bed while hooked up to all those sensors and drain tubes, etc. Who cares what i look like at this point. Reading stories of others and how they made it thru similar.
Please also know there are counselors and specialists who can help with the stress and fear of all this. Everyone's path is different. Try a lot of different things and hopefully you will find a few that help.
Keep us up to date on how everything is going.
Best Nels
OC thriver, Tongue Stage IV, diag 3/12/20, surg 4/1/20, RT compltd 7/8/20
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