My Dad fell ill around October last year. After several months going to and from his GP and the hospital with no one seemingly able to give him a diagnosis, he finally got a CT Scan on 28th March. By 29th March he was admitted to hospital after a couple of weeks of being unable to eat properly. After further tests we finally got feedback from his consultant. Stage 4 lung cancer which has spread through his chest cavity, his kidneys and his spine. The only treatment on offer is palliative care. We are devastated. Dad is still in a respiratory ward at the moment. The consultant said that someone would be in touch regarding palliative care but we don't really know what that means yet? Any assistance on what to expect next would be most welcome x Thank you in advance x
Hi MeGeeDee
Welcome to the carers part of our site though sorry to see someone else join our band.
When my wife's cancer was first diagnosed I thought palliative care meant there was no hope. My wife's cancer was incurable even when it was diagnosed - after a massive number of false starts - long story.
My wife was offered some chemotherapy and it worked - a bit too well really as some of the cancer cells were the wall of a lung - still they can fix a collapsed lung and we are all too familiar with the respiratory ward,
When she was stable again they tried a second - gentler - chemotherapy - and touches large block of wood - it has rendered her cancer stable - our new golden state we have been living in for over 6 years now.
Early on we were referred to the local hospice - we are as they say "on their books" but since our initial interview have not had any need of their services,
So what lies next in your future - a massive rollercoaster. I ended up close to breaking point and managed to get a space on a living with less stress course. The main win for me was to appreciate every day - much better that where I was trying to work our how we could live without her when she was still here. There were tricks to help us deal with the unexpected falls along the was. Transcendental meditation though just was not for me.
It look us a wile to adapt to living with cancer - realising that we all live with uncertainty all the time and worrying about tomorrow is not the most helpful thing in the world - given my driving anyway who knows what might happen.
<<hugs>>
Steve
