A fantastic Man who is like a 2nd father to me, and a grandfather to my sons was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer sept 2018. He had a operation to remove some of the tumour, a certain % did come away, add to that chemotherapy & radiotherapy, he did surprisingly well. Then, in December 2018 he had a seizure, so meds were given to keep that at bay. All the while day by day, his memory became muddled, confused, much like my Nan who has dementia actually.  More rounds of chemo were giving, both orally & IV. He & His wife still went for daily walks, went to town for an hour, obviously we all knew it was terminal from the get go. But then since lockdown on March 23 2020, his health took a serious decline. Whether it was the cancer, or the fact he kinda thought he was being forgot about (due to covid rules/laws) im not sure. But definitely a major decline. The last 3weeks have been horrendous, he now doesn't/cant get up, he hasn't left his bed for 3weeks, his wife & I have been feeding him, his right eye always seems watery & red, he doesn't speak, we were getting a slight nod, or a slight smile.  But now, during the last 3 days, he cant swallow.  We are awaiting a swallow test? Hes not eaten or drank. His body is constantly shaking, very vigorously. The hospice carers come in twice a day, hes got a driver but not for morphine, its the anti seizure or anxiety drug going through it. Hes coughing & his chest sounds bubbly. I personally think we are at the "days" if not hour stage now. The carers are very nice, but nobody has actually told us what stage we are in. As I said, personally I think we are in the end stage, but maybe somebody could confirm that on here for me.

He is 75, but until he was diagnosed, he led a very full life, still got up at 4am every morning to go and run his company. Took me & my sons to football training, days out, events and more.

He does squeeze my hand very very tightly when I go round & sit with him a while.

So basically, from diagnosis to now, we are a week away from 2years exactly. 

I'm numb, feel helpless, I only lost my own mother last year, suddenly, very unexpected.  2020 seems to have taken alot from my family & I. Many people we have lost, both old & young, near & far. Im just lost for words really (i know ive typed an essay, but you know what i mean) There isn't much information regarding brain cancer, well, not that I can find anyway.

Are we in the last stages now? 

Can anybody help me with anymore information?

Regards & best wishes,

Bex.

I'm really sorry about your close family friend Bex. 

We have some general information about what to expect in the last few weeks and days on our website just here but if you have time it may be worth trying to get in touch with The Brain Tumour Charity as they will be in a better position to answer your questions in relation to this. 

I hope this helps and I'm sending best wishes to you all at this difficult time.

Kind regards,

Steph, Cancer Chat Moderator

Thank you kindly x

Hi Markcu

So sorry for your loss, my dad was diagnosed at the end of March last year (2020) just as the UK was plunged in to lockdown. He had radiotherapy but the tumour continued to grow throughout treatment and he slipped away early December. The same as you, we nursed him at home at the end of life, it was heartbreaking to see what he went through and is still, all my Mum and I can think of.

Dad chose to have a non-attendance cremation which is something else l have really struggled with as it feels like we never had a proper goodbye.

Hello, my wife recently passed away on Dec 3rd 2021 after being diagnosed with a HGG Stage 4 in Jan 2021, my wife suffered badly in the last few days so very upsetting to see her suffer. She had a morphine driver but that did help somewhat. Despite having hospice care due to the pandemic I don't think enough care was given and what exactly was going on not being translated to us,so much so I was not able to have my time to say goodbye as  things went so fast. I am devastated to say the least. To top it all I had a heart attack in Sept 2021 and suffered depression at the end of my recovery on top of caring for my wife it was a mixed emotions time and  I feel like I let my wife down when she needed me at that EOL. Throughout the illness my wife never complained of pain just a downturn in cognitive, sight and trying to remember how to do things. This is a terrible desease for any carer to go through as well as the patient who has it. I just thought cost played a part in all of this. 

My dad was diagnosed with stage 4 glioblastoma about 18 months ago. He has done amazingly well. In September he was told it was growing very fast and he would die by Christmas if he wasnt operated on. The operation resulted in a stroke. He is only 65. To make things worse he is in Germany in a hospice and the care is nowhere near what we are used to in the UK. I have two small children so juggle travelling back and fourth. Dad now sleeps a lot (im guessing both the drugs and the tumour), they dont scan him anymore here so we dont really know whats going on. He was told he has 3 to 6 months to live in November. Its now end of March and he seems "well" despite everything.  Though mood is an issue, lots of angry outbursts . Did anyone else experience this?

Our mother also died 5 years ago from multiple myeloma so i can sympathise with the lady whose going through it again with another parent.

I think its going to be a long slow decline but I am not sure. He does have a terrible cough now as he is bed bound. But he eats well and overall seems content. Gosh its hard to tell.