Hi
My ex husband is end of life with bowel and mouth cancer. He is bleeding and coughing up blood. He lives with his wife who is still breast feeding her son at 1 years old. She is struggling to get time to eat something and her husband constantly needs things. As there any respite care available?
Hello Emem and thank you for contacting the Macmillan Online Community.
I’m sorry to hear about your ex-husband, is there currently any support in place for him and his wife? The fact that he’s bleeding and coughing up blood is concerning, I would suggest them making his GP/cancer nurse aware if they haven’t already.
Macmillan nurses specialise in pain and symptom management as well as offering emotional support and helping to co-ordinate care. They work on a referral basis and a health care professional like a GP can arrange this and other kinds of support.
There are different types of respite care Emem. These include:
You can find out more about the different types of respite care on our website, but it’s usually a GP, social worker, district nurse or palliative care nurse who would make the necessary arrangements.
How are you just now Emem? We’re here to support you as well if you have any clinical questions you’d like to ask our nurses or just want to talk things through.
Alex, Information and Support Adviser
Remember you can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or by email.
