Hi, I am hoping someone out there will be able to give me some guidance about what our family should expect in the oncoming days.

Our very much loved Mother has been diagnosed with spinal cancer that had spread from her breast and may have now spread to her brain, sadly she had an all clear mammogram only five years ago but that is something we are all doing our best to put out of our minds.

I will not go into detail but she was admitted to hospital over a week ago because her calcium levels were dangerously high. This has now been dealt with, although the levels then went dangerously low for a while!

We know that Mum has incurable cancer and that her life expectancy is not good, my question is - Does anyone have experience of this? Any help would be so very much appreciated.

Mum has always been the kindest and sweetest person but now she has become rather aggressive, even using swear words (which she has always frowned upon). Mum is so desperate to get out of hospital and back home with her family, she says she is bored but refuses a TV, and she constantly asks me or my siblings to take her home. Mum has become convinced that there is some kind of conspiracy to keep her in hospital and has started to accuse her family of being involved in this conspiracy because we are not yet able to take her home. Any kind of medication is part of the conspiracy as far as she is concerned so she is refusing all pain killers. The hospital staff are doing their best to make arrangements for Mum to go home where we are all ready to care for her but it is taking time, I suppose I can understand that it is very frustrating for her, it does seem to be taking a very long time for her care team and the equipment that will be needed to be put into place.

Mum is now crying and begging each and every visitor to take her home with them, I was with her for most of the day and it is truly heartbreaking! Mum asked a nurse to call my sister tonight and she was so upset that my sister has had to go and be with her, she says she is too afraid to stay in hospital alone. My brother has also left home to be with Mum, he is prepared to stay all night and has cancelled his work for tomorrow.

Is this normal? Does this mean that the cancer is affecting her brain much more now? As a family we just do not know what to do, Mum should be home with us soon but she is simply not prepared to wait and says she would rather die than stay in the hospital, it is just the most awful situation.

I welcome any help or advice.

Many thanks