My 86 yo FIL has lost so much weight from poor appetite the last 2 months and has had blood tests. He has a high white blood count and the GP informed me that he has a form of leukaemia but not specifically which one. I didn’t ask at the time cause I was in shock.
Leading up to this I noticed large bruises on his hand (thinking he’d fell) and three purple dots on his elbow (thinking this was a result of the blood test - don’t know why?).
He has completely wasted away, has no energy and is always thirsty with a dry mouth. He will only drink lemonade (something sharp) now.
He doesn’t want any further blood tests and GP advised that an oncologist would not treat him anyway. We’ve had a DNR put in place as requested by professional carers. He’s not in pain (we assume) and all else is well.
If there are no further tests, how can we roughly know what will happen, how advanced is it and when will it become end of life.
Thanks
Hi and welcome to the Online Community, although I am sorry to see you finding us and so sorry to hear about your father in law.
These are difficult times for all the family, if someone in the group has some supportive experience then I am sure that they will come along and help.
We do have a group for folks Supporting Someone with Incurable Cancer - link below. You may want to post in this group as this will open up your question to more people.
https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer_experiences/nearing_the_end/
Yoi may also want to have a look at our Careers Only and Friends and Family groups.
You may find our various Macmillan Support Line Services to be helpful - call them on 0808 808 00 00 This free service covers Emotional Support, Practical Information. Clinical Information, Financial Support and Work Guidance mostly open 8.00 to 8.00 but check the link.
We also have our ‘Ask an Expert’. section where you can post questions to our mostly Volunteer Experts but please allow 2 working days to get a reply.
All the very best.
