DEAR DEIDRE: HOW will I cope when my mum goes in for surgery to treat her bowel cancer?
She has always taken care of me. My dad left us when I was four and my mother brought me up on her own. She is a fantastic mum.
I am married with three children, a nine-year-old daughter and sons of seven and six. I am 32, my husband is 33.
Mum is 55 and lives just round the corner from us. We stayed near as I suffer from anxiety and get crippling panic attacks.
She is going into hospital next week and my anxiety has gone into overdrive.
DEIDRE SAYS: I think my e-leaflet on Coping With Panic Attacks can help you learn how to deal with them.
Try to focus on your mum’s feelings and how you can help her now she is the more vulnerable one.
You can rise to it. Find information at Macmillan Cancer Support (macmillan.org.uk, 0808 808 0000).
Got a problem? Send an email to problems@deardeidre.org. Every problem gets a personal reply, usually within 24 hours weekdays.
You can also send a private message on the DearDeidreOfficial Facebook page.
Follow me on Twitter @deardeidre.
