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End of life care - tips on breathlessness and difficulty swallowing

Felinefriendly
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My friend is nearing the end of a long battle with leukaemia. Quality of life is lessening by the day. She looks incredibly frail, thin and weak (no particular order) and wants to remain independent as long as possible (struggling from the bed to the bathroom and kitchen)

She is very breathless, and is gagging whenever she tries to eat or swallow tablets, or even liquids now.

Any tips on persuading her to try to eat please. I have given her a handheld fan which she finds useful/comforting when breathless and also at night when she soaks her sheets with sweat.

General advice for end of life care would also be appreciated, thank you

  • Dear Felinefriendly,

    Welcome to the online community. My name is Penelope and I am one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists. I am sorry to hear about your friend’s illness. It must be very hard to see her so frail and struggling with eating and breathlessness. With any worsening symptoms such as breathlessness we would always suggest contacting your friends GP, hospital team or 111 today for further guidance.

    If your friend has contact with a community palliative care team, they would be able to advise about symptom control specific to your friend’s needs. If she does not have this support, then with her consent, she could be referred urgently by her hospital team or GP. They may be able to help her by suggesting medication that does not need to be swallowed for example.

    Sometimes people resist the involvement of palliative care as they feel that it is ‘giving up’ and reducing their independence. Good palliative care, however, can facilitate the best quality of life possible by managing symptoms and providing support. We would encourage your friend to make full use of this support to help minimise her symptoms and maintain her independence. You can read more in this information from Marie Curie - What is palliative care?

    It can be normal to have a decreased appetite if someone is coming towards the end of their life. Small frequent tastes of food or drink can sometimes be more manageable. Marie Curie have guidance on living with a terminal illness including eating and drinking problems.

    For general advice on end of life care we have information here on what to expect in the last few weeks of life. It has information on tiredness and lack of energy as well as weight loss and breathlessness.  Our information on breathlessness may also be helpful.

    Supporting someone with cancer can be rewarding but also physically and emotionally exhausting. It is important to look after yourself. You may also be interested in our group supporting someone with incurable cancer in our Online community. 

    Please do encourage your friend to get urgent medical advice today and if you would like further information or support do not hesitate to get in touch with us on the contact number below.

     Best wishes,

    Penelope, Cancer Information Nurse Specialist 

    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 send us an email. 

    Ref/ AC

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