Dad’s mood seems to be getting a bit worse.

Hi Everyone,

I wonder if anyone here can relate to something that happened to my dad today. A little background first. When I was young, very young in fact, from the age of about 8 onwards, I was friends with someone who lived across the street from us. We were what you would class as best friends, did lots of stuff together, spend loads of time together and got up to lots of mischief together! We went to the same schools as each other and I guess we grew up with one another. I would go on trips with my friend and his parents and he would come on trips with me and my parents. My dad and his dad also got on really well and the 4 of us would all go to the football together pretty much every week as we all supported the same team, Dundee!!! I guess what I’m trying to say is that not only did I and my mate get on well, but both sets of parents did also.

Well, as we both got older, we moved on to other things as people do. They moved house and out of the area so we drifted apart, we didn’t fall out or anything, but we just both moved on. I’m still in touch with my mate every so often by email, we have a similar interest. He is an economics lecturer and I have a great interest in the markets. We bump into each other here every few months and catch up with what we are both up to. My dad and his dad also bump into each other every so often, and when they do, they both spend ages talking to each other. The last time I saw my friend was about a month ago and I told him about my dad and his CC and how it is inoperable. We talked for ages and I know that he will have told his dad about my dads CC.

Anyway, my dad bumped into my friends dad today. This was the first time dad had seem him since he got sick. Instead of them spending time talking and catching up with each other as normal, my friends dad just sort of said hello and walked on. Now this is not what usually happens when they see each other. My friends dad is not rude, impolite or anything like that and we have all known each other for 30 years or so. Well dad came home and was feeling a bit upset about this. I guess he was felling a bit ignored from someone he has known for years. I think that perhaps some people don’t know how to react to others when they know they have cancer and how to approach them? Has anyone else had this sort of experience where others don’t know how to talk to them or indeed, maybe even avoid them?

Dad has not had the best of weeks and this sort of just ends a bad week, his first one in a while. He has had quite a few bouts of shaking this week, something he has not had for quite a long time. I dont know if this is down to the shaking coming back or not, but since it has not happened for a while, I sort of get the impression that he was thinking that he was getting better, then the shaking comes back and reminds him that he still has CC? He also says that he is not looking forward to his CT scan appt on the 23rd Dec and that he “feels like an old man.” He doesn’t seem to be as positive as he was a while ago, but hopefully this was just a bad week.

The best to us all.

Cheers

Gavin