My mum has brain cancer that can't be treated and she is no longer eating and her left side of face is now numb. I'm beside myself with worry. She had one phone call a week with the hospice. This doesn't feel much contact, is this usual practice?
i am so sorry too read this, I feel for you so much as I know how you feel! My Dad passed away from Gioblastoma, we cared for him at home and he passed away at home.
Is you mum at home, we managed too look after my dad right up until the end, we got some help from the community nurses and hospice at home on the last 48 hours of my dads life. Have you got help in place ready incase you need it? We had a just in case bag at home ready with medication if the nurses needed it.
Hopefully you will get the help you need, you should speak to your Gp
Thanks for replying and I'm so sorry about your dad. Mum is home and we have hospice and district nurses once a week. A just in case pack is on its way. Mum is ok in herself, she is sleeping a bit more but not eating but drinking tea and coffee. She seems quite happy watching tv, going out for rides in the car. I will speak with the hospice to see if we can have more support. I didn't want to ask if at this stage it's normal practice to come once a week.
I am thinking about you and your family, the heart brake is just over whelming, I completely understand the worry it's so Scary, I was actually frightened.
If you feel you need more support you must not be aftraid to ask for it, it's very lonely on your own. I just want you to know that there is no pain, and it is managed. Gosh I feel for you so much.
if you want too ask me anything please ask me even if In the future.
The Hospice at home Nurses where available, you can also arrange Night sitters when it gets too much, you could do with sitting down with them now and fully finding out all the phone numbers you need etc and even running through Sinarios.
Dad unfortunately took a turn and deteriorated really quickly so you have to be prepared for this,( sorry don't want too scare you) at this point we rang the District Nurses, and they came out and a Doctor also came. I actually phoned both Hospice and Nurses for help.
My Dad had a Tumor, not sure if your mum has similar or not so things may be different for you.
The last few days dad had morphine through a Syringe Driver, and passed away peacefully with no pain, it was the district nurses that sorted all of that out, they used the Medication from the Just in case bag.
leading up to dad passing away he slept all day and all night, only waking briefly for A drink and some food.
Don't want too over load you with Scary info hope I haven't upset you xx
I'm sorry to read about your mum. It is hard for us to comment specifically on her situation as we are not involved in her clinical care.
But her GP has overall responsibility for her healthcare at home. They can assess your mum and prescribe medications to help manage her symptoms. They can also let the hospice ( palliative care) team know that she needs more support. You can also let the hospice staff know about your concerns about your mum. Their area of expertise is in the management of cancer symptoms, such as pain and they provide emotional support to the patient and family. You can read more about their role by clicking here. You can also read more about palliative care on the Marie Curie website by clicking here.
We do have information about the support that can be available to people with cancer at home at this link. Macmillan Cancer Support also have information about this on their website here.
I hope this is of some use. Please get back to us if you need any more information or support. You may find it helpful to talk things through with one of the nurses on our helpline. The number to call is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am till 5pm Monday to Friday.
