When Cancer is Terminal?

Question

I'm going to try and keep this short... Back in 2000 my mother found out she had breast cancer, had mastectomy, along with the treatment. For a few years everything was good until Feb. of 2006. She had her routine cat scan and it came back with a golf ball size tumor on her brain. My mother went through the treatment and the Doctor removed that tumor, again all was starting to look good. About 5 weeks ago she had another routine cat scan and again, the tumor was back. This time there is to much and nothing is going to help. The tumor is so large and inside her brain as well as on her brain, it all started from the breast cancer. Now the doctors told her she has terminal cancer and has two months to live. How scared she must be. She can no longer be alone and I set with her everday. This is so overwhelming on me, Lord knows how she must feel. I know all the side affects of terminal brain cancer. Is there anyone who has been through this might be able to give some advice or anything?T

Answer 1

Hi. I am sorry to hear about your mom. I have been through this very thing with a friend who was also a nurse. I am an RN and deal with much of these situations in the ER. You are always welcome to seek a second opinion, but the situation sounds grim. The best thing I can recommend is to look into Hospice or Home health to come and help take care of your mom in these last few weeks. The nurses are well trained to handle these kinds of issues, and it would be the best thing to keep her pain at a minimum. They can actually insert what is called a picc line, or she might already have a port installed due to the cancer treatment. The point I am getting as, is that they can put her on IV medicine constantly with a pump she can activate herself to control her pain. I think it is the best thing to ask for. I asked for it for my grandma when she had cancer. You will be suprised how accommodating the medical professionals can be, and keeping your mom comfortable is their primary goal.

I will pray for you! I don't know if you believe in God, but I believe He can give you peace, and peace to your mother as well.

God bless!

Answer 2

I'm so sorry for what you are going through. If you know that the cancer has spread to her brain, you don't have much time left. Many people get tumors from one part of the body and end up with it in another. (metastasis). The best thing to do is get her on hospice care. Your doctor can start the process for you. They will come to the house and take care of her physical needs and even keep her company when you need to be away. One of the nice things about hospice is that they have orders to give any pain meds that are necessary. If she feels the slightest pain they can be there to address it. On the emotional side, you should get all the information you can about her life and record some thoughts and just about anything she wants to record while she is still able. there will come a time when that is impossible. Talk to her, enjoy her, cherish the minutes with her. Tell her how much you love her. You are in my prayers.

Answer 3

I have no idea if it would work at this point but - Try Vitamin C therapy. A few years ago a cancer specialist came out with a paper that said the best cancer/infection fighter found to date was Interferon. At the time it was $15,000 a gram. The paper also said that Interferon was a by-product of the natural breakdown of Vitamin C in your body. Shortly after that the FDA tried to make Vitamin C by prescription only. Guess why? The FDA has the RDA for Vitamin C set at 64 mg a day, just enough to ward off scurvy. Linus Pauling, who got a Nobel Prize for his work with Vitamin C and a second Nobel Prize for Organic Chemistry, said that 1000 mg a day should be the minimum and 2000 mg a day if you are sick or smoke. He played tennis almost daily until the day he died at 96. Personally, I got sick twice a year for 2 weeks at a time, for more than 20 years, with something to this day the doctors have no idea what it was, but for a week in the middle of those 2 weeks I was flat on my back. I started Vitamin C therapy once I gave up on the doctors. I took enough to be asymptomatic for those 2 weeks. Too much and I got diarrhea and too little and I got sick. Within a narrow range, and it followed a bell curve over those 2 weeks, I was not sick. At the height I was taking 40,000 mg a day and 300,000 over the 2 weeks. After 2 years of that I have not been sick since – more than 15 years. Vitamin C acts as a natural diuretic so you need to drink a lot of water and watch your body in total, but my kidneys did not dissolve as the doctors predicted, or get massive kidney stones as other predicted. I did not dissolve my bones as some predicted or completely calcify my joints as others predicted. I had no side effects at all. It might be something to consider.

Answer 4

I'm so sorry your mother and you are having to go through this difficult time. I admit, I haven't been in this circumstance before, but I am the mother of two children, ages 19 and 20, who have a terminal illness (my oldest is also mildly autistic). I have watched their illness progress to the point at which it is now controlling them more than they are able to control it, so I can relate to the fear and pain and disappointment you feel. I know what it feels like to know that heartache lies ahead. I am fortunate in the sense that I have had time to learn to deal with these feelings and even find peace and contentedness despite the difficult situation. Your mom needs you to be strong right now. The last thing she wants to do is pass away believing that she's causing you unbearable pain and feeling guilty. Make your mom laugh a lot-- it's good for you both. Bring up different memories that make you smile or laugh. Devote all your spare time with her and enjoy being with her and do things together that are enjoyable and will make wonderful memories. For her and for you. Good luck. you will be in my prayers tonight.

Answer 5

I have faced terminal situations with my both parents ofcourse not of cancer but other illness and it was very pathetic. Generally Oncologist easily never tell that the case is terminal and if he has told then there is reason to belive. However please do not stop giving the treatement which will bring some sort of confort to your mother. Your Oncologist may administer marphine shots and it will give some relief and the patient would not know the suffering.

I request you personally and your other family members to go for conselling by a Phyco-Oncologist, which will give you some solace and courage to face the situation. We are all PRAYing for your mother as CANCER IS STILL AN ENIGMA.

Now what is Terminal Cancer - Read - (I am writting this so that you may be aware of the result and can face it boldly.)

Terminal Cancer illness is medical terminology popularized in the 20th century for an active and progressive disease which cannot be cured and is expected to lead to death. Palliative care is often prescribed to manage symptoms and improve quality of life. A patient who has such an illness is referred to as a terminal patient or terminally ill.-

Conditions said to be terminal include (but are not limited to): cancer, emphysema, liver failure, kidney failure, asbestosis, mesothelioma, some mental illness and heart disease. AIDS was once considered to be a terminal illness but modern medications make it possible for patients to live with the condition for many years after diagnosis and they often die from other causes

Answer 6

I sat with my mother when all hope was lost. I learned so much about the next part of the journey from listening to her about her dreams and the talk in her sleep. I do not know what or where but there is an after life. I will see her again. She would wake me up at four in the morning to ask me what time it was, I always told her and then she would repeat the same gesture thirty minutes later. Once she said "this must be so horrible for you" and my reply was "let's talk about when you did it for me". Good luck and god bless.

Answer 7

I'm so sorry to hear it, and have no magical words. All I can say is that you can view the news as a blessing in a weird way - some people have their parents get killed in car crashes, and they never get to say goodbye and regret all the things they wish they had done.

You can't reverse the cancer, but you can take advantage of this time to tell her how you feel about her, listen to all her stories and family lore, do whatever she's always wanted to do (if she's capable) and make the most of the time together.

My thoughts are with you and her.

Answer 8

I truly feel for you as this is what my mom died from when I was in college going to nursing school 20 yrs ago. I am glad that you are there to support your mom and how I hope you have someone there to support you as well. You must get in touch with Hospice as they can not only offer (emotional& financial) support to your family but their mission is to ensure the person dies with dignity. I worked home health and used to give "homework" to my iller patients. That homework was to record everything they could remember about their lives so others would know. Not just factual data, but their own funny, sad, heartwarming stories of their own lives and how they became the person that they are. You would forever have that to share with family members! Good luck to you!!! You r in my prayers!

Answer 9

I have not had this experience but I know that massage therapy can be helpful for the patient with terminal cancer. It helps to relax the person and decrease pain and discomfort. You may even be able to have a massage therapist come to her home or hospital room. Take care.

Answer 10

Hi,

Sorry for your situation - many of us have been through this type of thing and it is the hardest thing you ever do.

I would call or contact the local Hospice organitzation: they help the terminally ill on a day to day basis: they can help you, even if it is just to give you someone to talk to.

http://www.hospicenet.org/

good luck, god bless,

jewells