Hi Briony, Sorry to hear you've been diagnosed. One thing I can tell you is, you're not alone - you're on a path being walked by millions of women and some men around the world. You might also consider joining the Aussie Breast Cancer Forum http://bcaus.org.au/forum/ and if you're under forty years young, the Planet Cancer social networking site http://myplanet.planetcancer.org There's also a wonderful website called Breastcancer.org which is a mine of valuable information about breast cancer and its treatment and it has the biggest breast cancer community discussion boards on the internet http://breastcancer.org Good luck with the surgery and good luck on your journey :) Best wishes, Ed. ... View more

Hi Powellypup, Your world has been turned upside down as you say and while there's always hope and who knows what the future may hold, I suppose looking at things realistically, your mum may pass away soon. You may find it valuable in helping prepare you and your family for this eventuality, by reading the following article - it addresses the issue "Many lung cancer patients and their loved ones want to know what to expect when dying of lung cancer". It's a sensitive but frank discussion, and if you visit the article, I would suggest reading a little bit, and if you think you may find the discussion distressing, then give it a miss or ask a friend to read it. http://dying.about.com/od/thedyingprocess/f/dying_of_lung_cancer.htm My other suggestion is for you and your family to prepare for the eventuality of your mother passing sooner than you expect, so you can do some thinking in the near future about both practical aspects and whether there are things to say or to talk about with your mum while there is opportunity to do so. I stress that I'm not medically trained so I'm offering my personal opinions here. I hope your mum can stay in this world with your dad and you and family for many many months to come. Ed. ... View more

Hulloha Nikki, I one hundred percent support your decision to take a year off cancer-related work and see if there are other opportunities in life you may wish to take up. You deserve medals and honours for the work you've done helping the YAC community, and now is the time for all of us to get right behind your decision to see what else the world has to offer you, and to help launch your boat on this new voyage of discovery :) Bon voyage Nikki !! Ed. ... View more

Hi Kelly, I'm sad to hear of your sister's passing. It seems such a brief time since you first posted. I will be thinking of you and your family today. Best wishes - Ed. ... View more

Hi Aylaah, I hope the radiotherapy goes really well for your sister, and her medical team are getting her pain under control. Thinking of you and your sister and family this week. Best wishes - Ed ... View more

Sending you support Kelly, and hoping your sister can be kept reasonably comfortable as she prepares for her journey to the next world and says her goodbyes. You may find this link useful at some time http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10259772108 I guess one can still hope and pray that your sister's prognosis turns out to be way too pessimistic. Best wishes - Ed ... View more

Thanks for updating us again Kelly, I'm so sorry to hear your sister has been plunged into this war zone. Let's hope the chemo at least stems the tide and if there's a promising trial or new treatment regime she can participate in then they get her onto it soon. I'm hoping her Sydney appointment goes well and they have some good news regarding treatments they can offer her. Best wishes - Ed ... View more

Thanks for updating us Kelly. I'm really sorry to hear your sister has been confirmed as stage four and that the cancer has spread so widely. I wouldn't worry about your sister being in an expanding bubble - my guess is it's a good strategy for her while she slowly comes to terms with the magnitude of the diagnosis and how this will change her life, both in practical terms with the treatments and in terms of the fears and uncertainties she will feel about the future. Glad to hear she's got onto chemo quickly - as you say, much better than waiting till the end of January. I do hope the treatment goes well, and that if there are any promising trials at present being run in Australia, that they can put her onto one soon. Best wishes - Ed ... View more

Hi Kelly, I'm sorry to hear that it sounds like your sister's melanoma probably has metastasized. Only a few days now, and the diagnosis and the way forward will be a lot clearer. Sounds like a wise strategy to act as a mediator for your sister in the family. There are certain to be other things you may be able to help her with too if it seems appropriate. The websites www.cancer.org, www.cancer.gov and www.breastcancer.org are very good sources of information about a wide variety of issues relating to cancer and its diangosis and treatment that you and your sister may find useful. (Although breastcancer.org is a breast cancer site much of the information there is relevant for many kinds of cancers, as are some of the discussions in its very populous forums). Good luck to your sister and best wishes to you and family. Next big stepping stone Thursday, unless your mother checks out the cd beforehand (if it's accessible). Ed ... View more

Hi Kelly, I'm not familiar with nodular melanoma and had to search for basic info on the internet as you've been doing. It does seem your sister's lumps fit the descriptions of nodular melanoma (not a medical opinion). Most of the basic info about nodular melanoma on the internet is probably copied from a very few sources so you may find the same info repeated on many sites. Good on your sister for going to her doctor when she became worried and not months down the track, and well done to her doctor for doing a biopsy! That was a wise step to take. It sounds like your sister is now on the "best practice" road for diagnosis and treatment of melanoma in Australia - a CT scan Monday, and being referred to the The Sydney Melanoma Unit, and urgency about tests, diagnosis etc. If I get melanoma (which wouldn't surprise me at all given my outdoors early and middle life) the Sydney Melanoma Unit is where I would want to be treated and I would suggest to my doctor "don't spare the horses" in getting me there please. It's good to hear about the speed with which your sister is being assessed. I didn't find any comments about whether forty lumps and increasing suggests metastasis, but I was only searching for about an hour so there may be info on that somewhere. If she has swollen lymph nodes anywhere that might indicate metastasis but it could be due to other reasons. Malignant melanoma can be one of the more troublesome cancers to treat particularly if it's metastasized so my suggestion is to be prepared for your sister to have a fairly challenging time ahead for a while at least, but only scans and tests will tell you how difficult, so it's play the waiting game for a little while - won't be long now and she'll be fully diagnosed. The news is sometimes a lot better than one imagines. Good luck to your sister and she will be so reassured to know that you are helping and supporting her :) Ed. ... View more