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lung cancer and secondary brain cancer

katy-jag
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My dad got diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer 8 weeks ago after we found secondary brain tumours on his brain. He had a 7 day course of radiotherapy to relieve swelling on his brain to hopefully give him a while longer. 5 days into the radiotherapy we had to stop treatment as he couldn't see and symptoms got so bad. 3 weeks on now and I found my dad in bed unable to move his legs, he can't walk at all now and had urine infection I'm caring for him at his home. But today he had a fall, fell unconscious and I found him on the floor.. he won't leave home he's very distressed and agitated. He's coughing up mucus, won't eat or drink, can't urinate. Keeps falling to sleep alot but waking not long after . He begged me today to let his suffering stop.. he wants to die. He's on oral morphine and steriods for swelling on his brain. Am I to expect worse or is his suffering nearly over. He's asked me if we can stop his steroids hoping he'll go sooner but I don't want to cause anymore pain. I Need advice please if anyone can help.

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    Hi Katy, I'm so sorry to hear about your Dad having this terrible disease and feeling so sick with it. It must be such a worry for you, especially not knowing what to do for him. I hope you have other family members there to help you with this as it would be so hard to be doing this by yourself. Are you in touch with his treatment team? Perhaps they would have some suggestions for you in regards to his present situation. It seems like he wants to die. Does he have a Personal Directive done up for his care in a situation like this, or have you or other family members ever discussed this with him before?

    Maybe if you contact the nurses here on the forum they may have some suggestions for you. You can contact them by phone during business hours at the number listed at the bottom of this page, or you can post a message to them in the section. "Ask the Nurses".

    I wish I could be more helpful, but you really need to get help from his treatment team, or another medical service.

    Come back on here to get some support for yourself as you go through this challenging time.

    Take care.

    Lorraine 

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    Hi Katy

    It sounds to me as if you need to seriously think about hospice care - he obviously needs careful observation and some serious pain relief to get him through to the end and as his balance goes and his dependency gets even higher I think you are going to really struggle to cope.

    In any case talk to someone about the possibility of a syringe driver. This is a sealed unit that continues to deliver a measured dose of a synthetic morphine over a time period and is commonly used with terminal cancer patients.

    Cases like this are hugely upsetting and it makes me so angry that the government completely chickened out of the assisted dying act - they decided that it was perfectly fine for people to go abroad for this but wouldn't dirty their hands and conciences with legalising it here

    If your MP is on this list as a "No"

    www.publicwhip.org.uk/division.php do write to them and tell them about your father and the price that their principles have 

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