Some close friends of ours have found out that the wife has to go back for more treatment, after nearly two years in remission. Our hearts g out to them, and I know exactly what the husband is feeling.
I briefly spoke to him yesterday, and his comment that stuck with me was that you just want to know something definite. The path forward is not clear, and unlike most illnesses, where you go to your doctor and they give you some pills, or an operation, or cream, and they can almost guarantee that it will clear up, with cancer you don’t have that. You can think you are clear, only for something aggressive to come rushing back at you.
I firmly believe that is a big factor in the final stages of some people – they effectively get worn down by the constant worry, and their bodies can’t cope. Stress and constant worry can be seriously debilitating, even with the harshness of the disease itself.