Having trouble coping in this situation.

[k9love]

I'm a very anxious, stressed person at the best of times.
Now have another worry, my friend has been told she might have lung cancer, her husband is waiting for open heart surgery so shes keeping her own problems to herself as she doesn't want to worry him,so only I know!

I'm finding it incredibly hard to keep this to myself, I obviously respect her for not wanting to upset her husband but I feel like I shouldn't be the only one to have this on my shoulders, I feel so sorry for her but I cant be there all the time for her.
I have just taken her to the hospital tonight for a ct scan and she wont get the results for 2 weeks, so that's another 2 weeks she will be worrying and only me to turn to.
She has other friends but doesn't want them to know either, sorry but I feel like I'm alone with this.

[Rick(amateur)]

Hi k9love,

It's definitely not easy bearing such a secret. It's quite a terrible burden but your friend chose to only share this with you so, as tough as it may be, you must continue carrying such a burden.

I think the best way is for you to distract yourself best you can like doing hobbies. There's really not much you can do at the moment where the results take time to finish. I can only imagine how you are feeling during this seemingly long wait.

If this does get overwhelming, you can try writing it somewhere meant for your eyes only. Sometimes, getting it out can help alleviate the pressure. You might need ways to vent it as this wait is only the beginning. Even in the event of this not being lung cancer, there could be a lot of treatment and, from what I've heard, illnesses involving lungs are usually quite difficult to treat.

I hope for the best for you and your friend. Just stay strong and do your best getting past a day at a time.