Hello community,
My grandmother was diagnosed with colon cancer in May this year and sadly died on Thursday.
She was 94 years old and too frail to receive treatment so was referred instead to end-of-life care and for the last 10 days to a hospice.
The care she received from all parties has largely been outstanding and our family have been so grateful.
However, one thing we didn’t feel well informed about or prepared for was how extreme her weight loss and wasting of her body would be.
6 weeks before she died, she only weighed 7 stone. On the last two days of her life, she was skeletal - it is no exaggeration to say she appeared like a victim of starvation. It was a haunting and unexpected experience to witness her in this state.
I researched cancer and extreme weight loss and discovered cachexia - a very common, yet under diagnosed condition for cancer patients - especially those with cancers of the digestive system and / or COPD or kidney failure.
My grandma seems to have fitted all the diagnostic and symptomatic criteria for cachexia, yet it was never discussed with her or her carers and family. If we had known, perhaps we could have eased her symptoms more effectively, and also felt less shock at her appearance at the end.
Why is cachexia under diagnosed and not spoken about more often or openly?
