i have a question that i am hoping someone can answer, after christmas i found out that my uncle has skin cancer no one knows how long he has had he has been going through chemo and seems to be doing ok! my question is when i see him what kinds of things can i say to him should i say that he is doing good? is it ok to ask him what he thinks and feels about having skin cancer? i dont want to say the wrong thing and upset him does anyone have any advice.

Just let him know that you are thinking about him, and wishing him the best or praying for him if you are. Then let him take the lead as to whether he wants to talk about it or not. Other wise, just talk to him like you would anyone else, and talk about the things you would normally talk about. My dad is going through chemo with metastisized melanoma. In his case, he doesn't want to be reminded of it all the time. But he does like knowing people care.

Also, if he is presently going through chemotherapy, you will want to time your visit so that it is at least a week after his last session, more if possible to give him plenty of time to recuperate. If he is on the same regimen as my dad, it takes quite a while to feel good enough to have visitors again. Also, make sure that you, and whoever is with you on your visit is completely well, without anything contagious, because his resistance may be way down. And anything he catches could be life threatening.



[This message has been edited by 1Dove (edited 10-22-2002).]