Good luck to you in your coming appointments....... A pet scan is the ultimate scan apparently- the only one my husband hasn't had....... Let us know how you go!! PA ... View more

Good luck to you in your coming appointments....... A pet scan is the ultimate scan apparently- the only one my husband hasn't had....... Let us know how you go!! PA ... View more

Hey there! You are doing a great job.......keeping your head down and keeping it all together, working, sorting out your dad's appointments etc....is a massive task..... As for the 'difficult conversations' you need to have about his funeral wishes etc....I reckon just pick a time when it is quiet, he is relaxed and just go for it, telling him that you respect/ love/ admire him and want to fulfil his wishes to make him proud.....even give him an out by telling him that he doesn't have to talk about it just then, he ca think abut it, and you will abide by his wishes...... A tough conversation but once it is over......a sense of relief (been there done that) Thoughts and hugs coming your way..... Good luck!!!! PA ... View more

Deedee!! Centre link SUCK!!!! I earned $6.50 gross a fortnight too much for my husband to get his healthcare card back..............don't get me started.....anyhow- we have had amazing assistance from a financial counsellor the Cancer council set us up with (working pro bono) and he is going to advocate on our behalf with centre link. (we are in NSW, could be different in other states). Anyway......I think you need to look into salary sacrificing your husbands income that is over the threshold, as this can reduce the income for centrelink purposes from what I understand (I'm an art teacher so Maths is NOT my forte).... But I reckon it would be worth a call to the cancer council and asking them about financial planning assistance. Also, the cancer council can give you a one off payment to pay a bill, see your hospital social worker for more info..... Otherwise, investigate getting access to your super early (if you have some), or accessing your husbands under the hardship clause. Also, if you are in NSW.....my kids go to family day care, and when we first got back from Sydney after my husbands big op, northern rivers family day care organized the government to pay for child care for the first twelve months we were back. Worth an ask........and they also can do in home day care (usually for shift workers) that we are trying to access to give me some time to sort the house out when I get home from work, so they would come into our home, feed and bath the kids and put them in bed......again, depends on your area and the availability of carers, but worth an ask...... Otherwise, swallow your pride, call in any favor you have ever given someone, and ask ask ask for help (I swallowed my pride and asked the lady round the corner to take my daughter to school a couple of days a week- her daughter is in same class, and she was so happy to help.) when your chips are down, people will help, and a social worker told me very early on that most people want to help, they don't know how, and they feel helpless, and they feel good when they do help, so let them. Hard though! Tough independent women we are!! Hope this helps! PA ... View more

Gwen! I just thought of something.... My husband saw a Chinese TCM doctor a few weeks before his peritonectomy. He got quite a few herbs and had a lot of acupuncture before his op. He feels that this really contributed to him having a better recovery after. But it was a TCM doctor..... And he actually put his hands on Bob about a week before the operation and told me what Prof would do, and when Prof called me to tell me what happened, it was eerily like what I had heard from the Chinese doc the week before..... Spookily so! But I forgot about that till just then when my husband asked me for money to get some acupuncture tomorrow. PA ... View more

Hi Helen, my condolences to you. He was a champion..... Please let us know when/ where his musical is staged. PA ... View more

Hi Helen, my condolences to you. He was a champion..... Please let us know when/ where his musical is staged. PA ... View more

Hi there! You are not alone!! Good on you for being so brave to go traveling in the first place..... I don't know if I could do that!!! As for mood swings and temper tantrums, been there, done that...... I just walk away from the blowup and say something like- it is not okay for you to talk to me like that, I understand that you are in pain/ tired/ frustrated/ hurt etc..... I will be reading a book/ walking over there/ sleeping if you need me.....But you have got to have boundaries......hard to do (it's taken me three years and I'm still learning).... But if you want love to survive, you have to set limits....... Hope this helps...... Take care and do stuff for yourself too!! PA ... View more

Good luck Jules! And I am sorry to hear about your cousin..... This is a crazy world! Take care of your self. PA ... View more

Maddie! My heart goes out to you. So unfair! I can't even begin to imagine how bittersweet that moment was. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason...... Or has a purpose at least..... Cliched and hard to hold on to most of the time, but it stops me from going crazy! Sending loads of purple energy your way tonight..... Plan that wedding...... Miracles do happen.......praying you get one! PA ... View more