Dealing with my sister's diagnosis

[JC59]

Hi everyone, I am new to the site. My beautiful sister was diagnosed with GBM in January just after her 62nd birthday. She has had surgery and six weeks of radiotherapy, chemotherapy which seems to be the norm. She has been so positive throughout this but as soon as her treatment finished a couple of weeks ago, she has started to feel really down and feels her life is over, especially not being able to drive. I am trying to keep her upbeat but finding it really difficult, could this be the treatment which has affected her mood? any advice would be welcome.

[Tansi75]

Hi JC59,I was diagnosed with a grade 4 glioblastoma in May 2010, it is important for your sister and yourself to stay positive. At the moment it may help her to reflect on her life and consider that the tumour, etc, has given her an opportunity to change her direction in life.

After my wife and I were given the news of the type of tumour, we didn't want to know the prognosis, as my elder brother had died 4 months before I became ill, with the same type of tumour. So we already knew what we were dealing with and what was to follow. As we left the room, it suddenly occurred to me that in order to get through this, I had to put my current situation into perspective, by thinking about past events, where I had been in a situation, not knowing if I could get through what was occurring, but I did.

It doesn't have to be anything drastic, something that seem insurmountable at the time, maybe trouble passing a driving test. This helped me to then ignore the probable prognosis and concentrate on living my life for how ever long that would be.

In the mean time there are things you and your sister can do to fight back. Diet is very important, has she cut out any unnecessary sugar, which feeds cancer cells? Blueberry's, pecan nuts and turmeric spice have anti-cancer prosperities, so it would be good if she can include them. The Brain Tumour Charity website has a lot of useful information, which might help about diets and other things. They might also be able to provide you with advice regarding support for yourself and sister. Do not forget the importance of taking care of your own needs, they are just as important as your sisters.

I hope this helps and wish you both and your families the very best for a positive future together. More than anything believe that you can get through this together; laugh as much as possible, as laughter is a great healer.

[JC59 in reply to Tansi75]

Hi Tansi75 thanks so much for your reply it is very thoughtful of you. Great tips which I will pass on to my sister, so glad you are doing well, ten years is fantastic. Take care and best wishes xx