My Pa has Cancer...

[Latekin]

I'm sorry for another gloomy thing on here. I really am. But it's three days before I turn 25, and I just found out from my Dad that my Grandfather has blood cancer. I don't know what type.

Pa's eighty three now. I saw him a few days ago. He never told me. According to Dad, he didn't want me to worry.

We're talking about my Pa. The man I idolised as a kid. He was always my hero, indestructible. He lived through an abusive family, war, heart surgery. Now cancer. Chemo.

It's killing me. He's always helped me. But right now, I can't do anything to help him.
I don't know how to feel. I'm sad one moment and crying, and then I'm not sad and I almost forget what's happening, but it's just there. My partner and my Dad say I shouldn't worry. That it's just a part of being old. But it's my Pa. He's never been an "old person." Greatly aged...but never old. He still looks like he's late sixties, max, over six feet tall...this is just right out of left field.

I'm not looking for sympathy. I just needed to say something here because I feel like my brain's going to explode.
So yeah. Sorry for this.

[Akasa]

Here's a thought... I could be totally off base as I don't know much about that kind of cancer...

If it's blood cancer does he need transfusions? Are you able to donate blood for him?

I felt much like you do about my granpa. I lost him when I was about 23. I was devastated. I still get tears in my eyes when I think about loosing him. If you need to talk you can PM me or post here.

[RootedPhoenix]

*hugs Latekin and Akasa*

[Sapphire Silk]

Here's a thought... I could be totally off base as I don't know much about that kind of cancer...

If it's blood cancer does he need transfusions? Are you able to donate blood for him?

I felt much like you do about my granpa. I lost him when I was about 23. I was devastated. I still get tears in my eyes when I think about loosing him. If you need to talk you can PM me or post here.

If he gets chemo therapy, there is a good chance Pa will need blood transfusions at some point.

It would be worth exploring to see if Latekin and Pa are compatible. If so, she can donate units in advance, and the cost ought to be a lot lower than donated blood.

Treatment will depend a lot on what kind of cancer it is (I'm assuming some form of leukemia, but there are a variety of types), and what stage it is.

If nothing else, support Pa in his decisions . . . regardless of what they are. If he wants to fight, support that. If he decides not to, support that. If he changes his mind either way, support that.

The only thing I would urge you to do is avoid quack medicine. There is a lot of it out there. People get scared by conventional medicine, and look for "alternatives." They don't work, they're expensive, and they condemn the patient who might otherwise be treated to a horrible death.

[Latekin]

I don't know that we have a compatible blood type, but I'll look into it. Pa'd never go in for quackery. Although he's not been through much formal education, he's a very intelligent man, and has never liked snake oil salesmen.

And Akasa, I probably will PM at some point. I just keep going through phases where it feels like nothing is wrong, and then I'm crying, and then I get frustrated and upset with everything around me. It's making me feel physically exhausted.

[Dave1982]

I'm sorry to hear that Latekin. I lost my grandpa to cancer when I was little, and I was just thinking about him the other day. I hope it all works out.

[XCashier]

Prayers and best wishes for your grandfather.