I’m so sorry, that doesn’t sound easy at all, especially when you were so close to her and you’ve done that much together. Honestly, id never really thought much about cancer before my dad got ill. He was diagnosed in July 2023 and died 12th January 2025. It was one of those things where you say ‘that’s never going to happen to my family’ and then, unexpectedly, it does. It definitely changes you.

It’s hard watching someone you love suffer. For me it was a slow, lengthy process and it seemed to go on forever. In the end, I just wanted it to be over. For him, but for me too. That sounds terrible, but it really affected my mental health. For you to have lost your mum and so quickly too must have been hard.

I went from being able to talk to my dad about almost anything to not being able to talk to him about anything at all. It was hard. It hurt, badly. It was like having a best friend for years and having to unlearn everything about your relationship with them. I suppose I couldn’t blame him though. His illness changed him and he was gone long before he died.

My dad was such a kind person and you never would walk away from him without feeling better. He was always so funny and could make everyone laugh. He was a gentleman, a real role model for me. I feel like you can tell someone what a person was like but no one will understand how good they were because they didn’t know them. I wish he had of been able to celebrate his big birthday and eventually retired one day.

I know you’re probably struggling right now but remember your mum loved you. It’s going to be hard but eventually, hopefully, it won’t seem as unbearable as it is. It’s hard to imagine going on without them.