Glioblastoma

Hi, my name is Tina.  My mom was diagnosed with stage 4 glioblastoma Sept 2015. She had surgery right away, they got 97%. She was doing really good after chemo & radiation. This past Sept 2017 a 2nd tumor was growing, surgery was done again.  We could tell this time it really affected her memory, balance & speach.  When she went for her 6wk mri they found a 3rd tumor had grown.  We opted out of anymore treatments/surgeries because that was her choice & we new it would be deeper into her brain. Jan 12th she was admitted to our local hospital for confusion, anxiety, unable to walk.  A wk later she was unable to carry on a conversation with us & barley walking.  We are now in a nursing home, she's down to 84lbs, she can't communicate, can't feed herself (or eat solid foods), doesn't recognize alot of visitors, unable to sit up by herself, she hallucinates alot & talks to people (deceased sisters) that aren't there. We are to a point where they don't put her in a chair anylonger to shower because it hurts too bad, her neck is in alot of pain. They just started her on Roxanol today. I know this is getting really close to end of life, I just wish I new of more signs to look for.  We are here with her every day from 8am til 8pm. Honestly I just wish I new a time frame.  I have family to talk to, but sometimes I look for answers that they can't help me with.  Hoping to chat with others & see how they can help me understand this end of life process.  Thank you for taking the time to read my story & hope to hear back soon. 

  • Welcome to the forum Tina although I'm really sorry for the reason you are posting.

    I'm sure some of our members will be along soon to offer their support and share their experiences with you but in the meantime I just wanted to share some information we have on our website about what signs to look for. You can read about this here but it will be a tough so maybe you could have someone with you when you go through it?

    I hope this helps and my thoughts are with you and your family at this time.

    Best wishes to you all, 

    Steph, Cancer Chat Moderator

  • Hello, 

    i am so sorry you are going through this, it must be so tough for you and your family. My dad was diagnosed in 2016 and like you mum had two really good surgeries. Unfortunately the tumour grew back and surgery was no longer an option.  Chemotherapy is no longer an option and my dad is now under palliative care. He can’t do much for himself, he was able to walk to the bathroom a couple of days ago but now can’t even manage that. He also says he is constantly feeling sick and anti emetics aren’t helping. He’s deteriorating very quickly and we feel so lost. I can’t imagine ever being happy again. I sleep on the mattress next to my dads bed and I constantly have anxiety at night time where I wake up to check he is still breathing. I don’t want my dad to die