Hello,
I am not sure how to respond. My mother is 67 years old and continually getting worse in my opinion. She survived breast cancer a few years back and has not been the same since. Since that occurrence she has condemned herself despite what the Dr’s were saying. She believes she is crazy and losing her memory, but she refuses to go to the Dr. She gets obsessed with things (literally) and will not drop them; my sister, objects moving around in the house, how horrible she feels, phone calls; she will alternate between calling my cell and home phone till someone answers. She has been committed (pink slipped)2 times (suicide attempts), both time released after 3 days but she will not take her medications. I was the one for years saying everything is okay, it is human to have memory issues. I am now thinking she is right and I was wrong. Even looking at her eyes, she appears to afraid and they are opened more widely than normal. She insists on having her independence. I could not afford a home for her even if she was willing. What do I do? How do I respond?
Help me please. Lost and confused.
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You know, she's afraid of being crazy at least as much as she is afraid of the cancer coming back, but maybe if she realized it could be something much more physically medical she'd be willing to be seen.
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I would consider contacting the local Gilda's Club as well. The one in my area has a number of support activities and support groups; in my opinion, they're experts in working with people and their caregivers with cancer experience.
I did a quick search and didn't locate any in Utah, but a more thorough search might find out in your area.
Yes, it can change a person, it did me. The darn meds I was taking put me into a panic mode, it just happened to be the side effect from a common breast cancer drug. It got so bad that I stopped the drug a year early [was to take it for 5 to 10 years].
If possible, see if your Mom can make an appointment with a talk therapist, someone who has treated women who have had breast cancer or who had the cancer herself. Her primary doctor or oncologist could recommend someone.