Megan's Story

When I was 14, my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer.  It was only a tiny dimple but she had an operation to remove it.  They gave her chemotherapy as well.  As a result she lost a large section of her hair.  I remember spraying that section to help her feel like it was less noticeable.  After all that she was placed on steroids which left her completely bald and altered her mood dramatically.  She also had radio therapy and her lymph nodes removed in an attempt to rid her body of all possible cancerous cells.  The drug she was placed on, Thymoxaphan, made her go through a fake menopause as well.

She was a completely different person.  At 14 I was expected to concentrate on getting as many Standard Grades as possible all while my mum was battling cancer.  Somehow I managed to get 9.

Over the next two years Mum started to get a little better.  Her hair grew back and she began walking a little.  This was not to last.  The year I turned 16 was particularly difficult.  I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, my Dad had a series of heart attacks and my Grandpa was diagnosed with bowel cancer.  I was caring for my mum all the while regularly injecting myself with Insulin and worrying about my Dad and Grandpa. 

I have passed up opportunities to go to college and also taken time out of University several times to look after my mum.  I’ve always been interested in nursing but I spend so much of my time caring for other people the last thing I need to make it my job as well.

At the start of last year my mum’s health took a turn for the worst, her stomach was really sore and she started to swell up.  She went from 14 stone to 21.  It turned out her the cancer had spread to her liver so yet again she was confronted with chemotherapy and radiation.  They put my mum on Thymoxan which is really hard on the body.  She was vomiting a lot, her finger nails fell off, she got pins and needles and we had to install a stair lift and get a zimmer for her the rest of the time.  That summer I also had to have my appendix out which forced me to miss a two week placement for University so I had no choice but to take a year out. 

Her pins and needles were getting worse and she felt like she had pinched a nerve in her neck.  That pinch in her neck was actually a sign that the cancer had managed to travel from her liver to the base of her spine and then up her neck.  It was terrifying as she was made to lie completely still in case she paralysed herself.  She couldn’t have anymore chemotherapy so she was back on the radiation and steroids again.  She lost her hair again.

I am her full time carer.  I always worry about someone else before myself.  I’ve also got a 17 year old sister and three dogs.  My life is constantly busy; I don’t get time to myself.  I come every fortnight to Cancer Support Scotland and chat with Yet, the talking therapist.  It’s good to talk to someone.  Until I was 18 I didn’t really speak to anyone about mum.  My circle of friends shrunk when they found out about my mum’s cancer.  I met my best friend when I was 15 and we are still very close.  I go out with her because I know I can trust her.  She is aware of my situation so I know when we go for a drink I know it’s not to be a big one because she is sensitive to the fact I have a lot of responsibilities.  I can’t help but get a little jealous of people who can go out without a care in the world.

I know the cancer is going to kill her, I’m not stupid, I know there’s only so much the body can take.