marcos
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hi all,
a short update: my mom is in a hospital since last Sunday. Her health has been deteriorating every day, so I expect it won’t be long before she passes away. She should get the external drainage on Friday, but I’m not sure she’ll make it until there. Tonight she would be receiving blood, since she’s suffering from severe anemia. Perhaps this will give her a little boost, but it’s hard being optimistic after seeing such a constant decline in her condition.
Anyway, I’m not expecting any advice – I was asked at the hospital to remind people around me to donate blood, so I’d like to take this opportunity to do so. That’s the least I can do to honor her memory.
Once again thanks a lot for all the helpful information, and I hope I can contribute somehow to the cause in the future.
Best regards,
MarcosThanks a lot for the answers guys, always very good information !
In the end I decided to bring mom to the hospital, since she was so distant, with her eyes closed all the time, even while being awake, and refusing to take any solid food. First exams have diagnosed some kind of infection and declining kidney function.
I’m now really in doubt if and when she should get an IV infusion. I’ve just read an article which says that they’re counterproductive for people in their last days, but I’m not sure if she has reached this stage yet. Anyway it’s pretty scary to see things happening so fast – 20 days ago she was still walking, albeit slowly, and now she looks like a ghost.
Thank you so much for your support !
Dear Pam,
thanks a lot for your kind words ! I’ve read your story in your posts and, being a parent myself, I get terrified with the idea of being in your position. I can only congratulate you both on your strength and willingness to help, and wish that a breakthrough comes in time for your daughter to get rid of this nightmare.
All the best,
MarcosMarion,
you’re right, she has always snored. But this doesn’t really sound like snoring when I come to think of it – it sound more like she’s having a disturbed sleep or even something like a trance state. Sometimes it sounds like she’s talking in her sleep, but most often it hear like a deep sigh.
I wonder if such changed sleep patterns “come with the package” in CC. I don’t remember if my father had it (he died of lung cancer), but then again every tumor is different, as it seems.
Hi all,
maybe I’m hijacking this thread, but I noticed my mother has somewhat the same problem. Right now she’s sleeping, and her breathing alternates between a silent, “normal” pace (when I watch her I see that her breathing is regular) and what I would call a “dreamy” state, in which she seems to be snoring or somehow catching for breath – sometimes it even sounds like singing. Do you think it could be this so-called “death rattle” ?
As I mentioned in my introduction, her oncologist has given me today a pretty bad prognosis, so I’m trying to identifiy the signs that he may be right or not.
Dear Marion,
first of all thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement and your really helpful advice. Surely we’re not physicians, but I’m really impressed with the amount of useful information I’ve been reading on this forum. It also kinda takes doctors out of their pedestals for me – by no means I want to dishonor the medical profession, but sometimes I feel they lack creativity, always following a sort of rehearsed script. Maybe I watched too much “House” anyway
Now to your points: my suspicion (which in the end was confirmed by the doctors) is that the tumor has grown around the “branches” of the biliary tree inside the liver, so the stent has not had much of an effect. He did suggest an external drainage, so I called the oncologist again and he will forward my mother to a radiologist so that he checks if such a procedure is feasible. He even said that, in case it’s successful, she might be eligible for radiotherapy again. So there’s a (dim) glimmer of hope here.
I asked him about the paracentesis, and he said that it would make sense if she has a lot of fluid and/or abdominal pain. I’ve just noticed that her tummy is huge, and she did mention some discomfort in the area, so I do think it may be a good idea. However, I’ll go after the external drainage first.
Once again thank you so much for you input !
