Hi everyone, I wondered if anyone had any advice or had maybe been through a similar experience? My dad is currently in hospital, we recently found out his throat cancer had spread to his spine and lungs and he has been given a terminal diagnosis of 3-6 months. A huge shock for all of us as it seemed his throat cancer had been caught fairly early and was completely curable. He isn't able to walk at all and is still in quite a lot of pain but the hospital want to discharge him. It would be too much for my mum to have him at home, they have said 4 carers coming in the day but she would be by herself apart from that, it is just too much physically and mentally as he needs 24 hour care. We would really like him to go into a hospice, these are his wishes also, however the doctor doesn't seem to think that is an option, even though looking on hospice websites it seems like they do offer some respite care or inpatient care for patients with a terminal diagnosis. I think hospice would be the best place for him to have the best care. The other option is a nursing home which we aren't really sure about, he wouldn't get the psychological help there and with the current virus situation, none of us have been able to see him at all, and that wouldn't change in a nursing home...is it unrealistic to be thinking about trying to push for hospice care at this stage?
Good evening La16, so sorry to hear this news about your dad,i remember when my mum had terminal cancer and was discharged from the hospital but went straight to a hospice as my dad would not have been able to look after her that well. These places specialise in this sort of case and can offer the services and comforts you dad would need, a nursing home would not really have the time to do this, in my opinion. I think some now offer daycare centres within the hospices so the patient can go home at night or weekends if he is permanent.
Personally i would definitely try pushing for a hospice as it sounds he will need this sort of specialised care where they are treated like they extremely well and visiting hours can be quite flexible once this virus has gone. You could phone the local hospice and see what they recommend as they might send one of their doctors to the hospital to asses him. It would be a lot better than having 4 nurses coming and going to his house. I really hope your dad gets his wishes, send hugs to you all, take care .
Chris xx
Its sometimes not easy but its worth it !
