"There's an awful lot of people with me in 'limbo land', but we are all there by ourselves."

Patient Partner Sara Turle

Living in 'limbo land'

Are you, or a family member, friend, or professional supporting someone, waiting for results, or the 'what next'?

Are you worried about the unknown, experiencing uncertainty and anxiety? Cancer patients relate to this place, and it has been described as 'limbo land'. 

Capturing and sharing

Together with our Working Together Group patient partners we have produced a series of ‘limbo land’ videos that capture and share: 

  • personal experiences of cancer patients, how they have felt during this time of uncertainty and what has helped  
  • the stories of professionals and the support they offer. 

Watch our 'limbo land' video series 

'limbo land' in full: Hear from both patients and healthcare professionals.

Patient stories 

Our 'limbo land' patient stories give  more insight into each person's experience.

Sara's story: "It's a place that I live in..."
Chris' story: "Lots of uncertainty along the way..."
Julie's story: "The one thing I wish I'd known..."
Kat's story: "Everybody hates not knowing..."
Hannah's story: ".......a lot of the time I just felt really, really angry that life was really unfair."

Professional perspectives

Our 'limbo land'  professional videos talk about individual roles and support.

Lesley, cancer clinical nurse specialist (CNS): "Until you go to that appointment, you really don't know what's going to happen next."
Jonathan, GP: "It can be exhausting... people have very little power over what is going on."
Janet, Macmillan counsellor and Claire, Macmillan consultant clinical psychologist: "...it can be a complete emotional rollercoaster ..."