"I am scared I have cancer"

a friend told me. She sounded frightened which is not in the least surprising. I would be too.

She had, at my request, rung to tell me the results of the test she had taken two days ago. The test results were "inconclusive" and she needs to have more.

I had asked her to call me because I knew she would need to talk to someone.  I am trying to be a good friend to this person but it is often difficult. 

She is an "isolate". Both her parents were only children and she was an only child. Her husband died some years ago now. It was his second marriage. Her step-daughter wants nothing to do with her even though the relationship started long after his divorce. There is just one other member of his family who has taken any interest in her. 

I doesn't help that she has a disability and multiple medical issues. So, I try to be there for her and tell her to do things like call me with results so she feels she has someone who is listening.

It makes me realise how incredibly fortunate I am. If there was something seriously wrong with me Middle Cat or Brother Cat would do all they could to help. I would do the same for them. I would even do it for the Black Cat although it is unlikely she would do the same for any of us. 

From things that my friend has said from time to time I suspect the marriage of her parents was one of "have to" rather than "want to". That she proved to be disabled appears, not unusually, to have been a further cause of tension. As Catholics they could not countenance divorce or even separation.

Now I wonder what will happen to this person if she does have cancer. There are things she must do anyway. It is getting to the point where she cannot live alone. Someone else already helps her do the shopping and the cleaning but it is the person the aged care provider she is registered with sends. It may be one person she knows one day and a complete stranger the next. The people she sees are not friends and the quality of the care they provide varies wildly. I am absolutely certain she could not cope with cancer treatment and go on living alone. It just could not happen. I suspect the problem is a different one but it is still going to need treatment. 

She does not live close enough for me to help in any practical way. I cannot get to her place by using the train and my tricycle. All I can do is listen - and that may not be enough - but I might just put the jigsaw puzzle I have for her in the post now.