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664d
my mom got sick when I was 8 with thyroid cancer, she’s now on palliative care because a lot of other conditions have popped up since her cancer diagnosis. She’s been in remission from the cancer since 2012. Well I just got the news that there is a HIGH probability she has lung cancer since her last scans showed masses on her lungs and with the previous cancer they think it spread to her lungs. When I was a sophomore in HS (2016-17) they told us she had 6months-2years to live. When we got that news I went through the grieving process, my social worker called it “pre-grieving” but the actual term is anticipatory grief. So I had accepted the fact that my mom was going to die by the time I left high school. Well it’s now been 5 years and she is still alive. It is very hard for me to deal with her still being alive because part of my brain still sees her as being gone. With this new possible lung cancer diagnosis she would be considered terminal since she can not go through treatment or surgery due to her other conditions. My brain is having a very hard time coping with the fact that she may actually die soon. It’s so hard grieving someone who ended up living and then a few years later they say she is gonna die. I have no idea how I’m going to react to her actual death since I previously did that. I don’t know if any of this makes sense but I just needed to vent
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Anxiety (Including GAD)
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663d
Anticipatory grief is a wild thing. My grandfather was diagnosed with altzhiemers when I was 9 and just died last year when I was 20. Even though we had all been hoping for him to pass on just so he wasn't in pain any more, it was still so painful when he was gone. Everyone experiences grief differently and so long as you don't use your pain as an excuse to hurt others you are allowed to feel whatever you feel. My aunt always said "you just have to let it wash over you if you fight it you'll feel like drowning" I am so sorry for your struggles and pain ❤️
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It does make sense absolutely I've done this all throughout my life with loss I either prep the emotions and grieve while they're still here but the best way to say is that it's always going to be a worry so if you can't deal with her being alive bring it up to a therapist and talk through that anxiety but don't forget to spend every moment you can with her you'll probably regret it if you don't. I'd try to see it as "I know you're going soon so I want to remember you as much as possible"
@Evilwerewolves2 see the issue is she is extremely toxic and emotionally abusive and a lot of my trauma stems from her. She kicked me out the house and we aren’t super close so it’s hard to spend time with her but she’s still my mom ya know
@Anxiousboarderline ah I was gonna put idk if your relationship with her is good or not, but tbh I don't know my mom abandoned me but my grandma is that way and I kinda avoid her a little bit. My best advice is to like send her letters in the mail rather than text if you wanna still remember her bc it means a lot to older people especially if it's handwritten and it brings them more joy than you'd know. Also it provides you the time you need to write everything down you wanna say. Because she doesn't have a lot of time left I wouldn't put anything mean in there even if you really wanna call her out write a second letter and burn it. That way you've still said your piece but nobody ever gets hurt.
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@Evilwerewolves2 Or I ignore the emotions until years later if it was a sudden death
☝ This content is generated by our users and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your physician before making any medical decision
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