Chris on finding a group that felt tailor-made for him

An MRI scan then found that I had multiple lesions on my liver. I thought “that’s me finished”.   

By July, my worst expectations were confirmed, that I had stage four pancreatic cancer. 

Even though I knew what was going to happen, it was still devastating words, delivered over a ten minute phone-call while I was on loudspeaker with my wife.  

Starting treatment

I had chemotherapy and during this time we moved house to be nearer my daughter and my grandson. 

Despite my quality of life with the treatment being low, my mind was occupied because I had things going on.   

At the end of treatment, during the final meeting, I was given the news that the chemotherapy hadn’t worked at all. 

My cancer was progressing rapidly and there were no more treatment options.

That’s when my head started to suffer. I couldn’t deal with what was going on and I knew I needed help. 

The mental side of dealing with death was much harder than the physical. 

There was pain medication for my body but nothing to treat my mind.  

Finding Maggie’s 

We came to Maggie’s reluctantly. The last thing I wanted was to meet people who were going to get better. 

But when I spoke to the staff, they told me that there was a group for people on palliative care, called Living with Ongoing Cancer.

I happily joined. It felt tailor-made for me.  

The group was educational and covered aspects of end-of-life care, which I didn't know too much about. 

It answered a lot of questions. But meeting the other people on the course was the best part. 

It was like we’ve known each other for years, very quickly. 

No one else understood what we were going through except each other and we had a very strong bond.

My wife and I began going to relaxation classes. 

Being a man from the West of Scotland, I was very sceptical. 

But it helped tremendously. It gave me the ability to relax and switch off my brain, even for a short period of time. 

The techniques I learnt in the class allowed me to sleep much better.   

My story changed quite dramatically. I was eligible for some targeted therapy, which has shrunk my tumours to a smaller size than when I was diagnosed in 2022. 

I’m no longer taking morphine, I’m free from pain.

It has been strange, after you’ve arranged your funeral, put your house in order, and sold your car, to have to go out and buy a new car and start living again. 

I would definitely suggest that anybody who is struggling with a cancer diagnosis should try to pluck up the courage and step through the door to Maggie’s. 

I got close to coming a few times, but when I eventually came in, it was much easier than I thought it would be. I never looked back after that.

We’re here with you

Our cancer support specialists, psychologists and benefits advisors are here for everyone with cancer, and all the people who love them.

Come and see us at your nearest Maggie’s, call us on 0300 123 180 or email us at enquiries@maggies.org