I don't think there's a problem with combing through other bibliographies when drawing up relevant things for you to read. But there would be a problem if you included them in any final bibliography (for example for a thesis) supposedly of what you had read, and you hadn't read them all.

Yes a Masters is a good way to go. My husband's first degree was Physics and Astronomy with Astrophysics. He took a Computer Science Masters, and went on to a Computer Science PhD.

As someone who has had journal papers published I would recommend that you have your supervisor have a quick read through to give you suggestions/feedback. It could increase the chance of the paper beind accepted.

I know your supervisor is busy, but they're supposed to help you in situations like this. Better to get help sooner rather than let it carry on much longer. I'd email him/her and explain what your problem is. Maybe they can offer advice by email, or have a quick meeting with you to discuss things. I always feel geed up after a supervisor meeting, especially if I was totally in the doldrums before. Also it would be better to sort out your writing problems before they get too far. I'm speaking from experience here, having had a tortuous time with the thesis writing.

Have you considered using a specialist mortgage broker? A colleague of my husband did this - he was a post doc but on a very short term contract and most banks wouldn't touch him at all. The specialist broker was able to find mortgages which would cover his less than ideal situation, and my husband's colleague got the mortgage he needed.

The writing up (which I've virtually finished) was by far the least enjoyable stage of my PhD process. This was despite me having plenty of time to do it because I started writing up really early. I found it a horrible process, the feedback from my supervisor soul-destroying, especially early on, and the constant pressure to produce good words terrible. I was glad when it was finished. Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed the rest of the PhD - but the writing up bit was, for me, awful.

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I think you need to put something down to satisfy them, but you can include some words to express that it's all subject to change depending on what you discover in the research etc. Also in your plan I wouldn't worry so much about giving specific dates, but perhaps instead giving a list of (vague) things you'd like to look at / start to look at in the next year. That gives you lots of flexibility for when you do it, and whether you do different stuff, while still having something down in the form of a (albeit vague!) plan.

Will you have a literature review ready? Even an approximate one? What about a plan for what you will be looking at in the second year? That could count as a deliverable too :)

I'm not finishing in October, but March, but then I'm part-time and only have about 5 good hours a week to work on the PhD, so March isn't *so* far away! And I've just lost 3 weeks worth :( The deadline is starting to worry me, even though my thesis is nearly finished and I just have some research to finish off and write up to plug a gap. I'm slightly panicky when I think about it. But then I break down what needs to be done into smaller steps and get on with those, one item at a time. I try not to worry about the big picture. Keep making small but steady steps is my motto. It's amazing how much you can accomplish if you work steadily onwards.

Good luck!

I was diagnosed with anxiety last year, possibly a result of drugs I have to take to control/slow down a progressive neurological disease. Or maybe it's a consequence of the brain disease itself. In any event I find the PhD hard to cope with at times. However I've managed by giving myself breathing time, using all the time I'm allowed (I'm a part-timer so am working on a 6 year schedule), and taking a medical break in the middle. I do wonder if it would be worth you negotiating an extension, just in case? It would give you extra breathing space, but you needn't use it of course.

I'd definitely recommend speaking to a counsellor. I even ended up talking to the university chaplain even though I'm agnostic because she was better able to help me cope with the life-threatening situation I was in. There are people at the university who can help you through problems. And perhaps your GP can offer help on the medical side.

I have huge concerns about my viva, not least the memory problems that I have from the brain disease and how much they could impact on my ability to represent myself properly. But I'm trying to be pragmatic about it, take things one small step at a time. Got to finish my thesis first.

Good luck!

My university also offers time management training for PhD students, but it's not compulsory, it's part of the Generic Skills training, and is taken up (if the student decides to do it) after they've started.

I didn't bother. My circumstances regarding time management are rather unusual to start with, and then I reckoned they'd just be telling me obvious things. Plus I was already quite far through the part-time PhD by the time the course was offered. Better for newer starters though.

rjb203's post reminded me that you did this as a second PhD, so are in a similar position to myself who started from scratch a second time (I was in a totally different discipline as well). It's incredibly encouraging to hear from someone getting through in those circumstances. It takes a lot of courage to try for a PhD a second time around, and having quit one once it could be all too easy to walk away again. But hearing success stories really helps. Thanks again.

If you're uncertain that you want to do research in cancer specifically then I would personally recommend the more general course. I'd doubt that it should put you at a disadvantage in any PhD application. Also wouldn't there be some potential specialism in a dissertation component of the MSc where you could demonstrate your key interests?

As someone with a neurological disease it's also very nice to hear from someone who might want to do research in that area in future. Good luck with whatever you decide.