rangani

Daisy, I am in pretty much the same place as you are. My mother, 86 was diagnosed first week of May. We went to GI because of the bloated tummy and thought the itching was an allergy. The diagnosis was a shock. They put a stent through the bile duct obstruction which immediately relieved the jaundice. From then on it has been palliative care. GI, oncologist and general physician all concurred that treatment is not an option. At best it would buy a few months at the enormous loss of quality of life during treatment. My mum had also given us specific and written instructions on what to do in case of illness; no hospitals, no feeding tubes, only sedatives and pain killers. Which is where we are at now. The speed of the deterioration is painful to see. The doctors are not able to say how long it would be, just given us some signs to watch out for. Lainy from this forum has also shared a helpful list of signs which are more relevant at extreme end stages. In the first two months, she had to have her ascites drained approx every 8-10 days. There was around 3 liters or more each time. But the last visit was under 2 and since then, now 20 day later there is no buildup. Increase diuretics probably has the effect along with the fact that her fluid intake is down to 500ml at most and sometimes less. She too, like your mum is on nausea and constipation meds. She is also on a sedative to help sleep at night and an anti anxiety pill which seems to be keeping her calm. All we can do now is stay as close to her as we possibly can and let her know she is not alone. It is hard, stay strong.
Rangani