Hi, I've just joined the site today as I'm felling a bit overwhelmed / exhausted already... and it's only been 21 days since my mum in law was taken to hospital with weight loss, total lethargy and back pain...

after, what seemed like many many scans/bloods/ xrays it's cancer... and it's in her lungs, liver and bones. She was sleeping a lot, but then ok at appointments, bright and alert, then would want to sit and nap.... now she doesn't even want to sit downstairs, she feels so much better stretching out, on the bed and ofcourse falls asleep. If we left her, she'd just stay on the bed, waking, reading paper, eat... sleep and repeat. She's only on codeine and paracetamol but thankfully only has 'stiffness' pain rather than anything bad and so doesn't take much of either pill. 
I think the body is so busy trying to sort out the 'foreign thing' that's come along - that it uses all of the energy there and so perhaps the body is better off sleeping ? we started by trying to get her to get up, come down for meals, sit in chair to read etc.... now she only comes down for evening meal and straight back up looking exhausted. She's lost 1.5 stones, so is now 8 stone. She manages leek and potatoe soup on its own, no bread... weak tea in normal sized cup... small pots of yoghurt (she gets these down very well and says they are SO refreshing) activity strawberry or the tiny kids Petis Filous ones. For evening she'll manage a piece of cheese quiche with 2 chips and 2 small circles of carrot. Flat cola is good for her to drink if I need to sit up and see someone or for her to feel happier, and Cadbury's soft chocolate rolls are good with a weak, milky coffee. 
How is your mum doing ???