Hi Everyone - at the beginning of January my dad was his usual funny, cheeky, happy self. He enjoyed gardening, driving his car and spending time with his friends and family However, by the end of January, he started feeling dizzy, off balance and had double vision. Despite 3 doctor visits, he was told that it was vertigo every time. Long story, short, he ended up in hospital and after lots of blood tests, an MRI scan, a CT scan and a PET scan, we were given the devastating news that he has paraneoplastic syndrome and lung cancer with a life expectancy of 12 weeks. My dad is now in a nursing home receiving end of life care. I was wondering whether there is anyone on here that has experience of paraneoplastic syndrome at all and is happy to share their experience of it? My father has got to the point where he can no longer talk, see or walk. He is bed bound, cannot watch telly, needs assistance getting to the toilet and can only nod and shake his head to communicate. Its horrendous seeing him like this and me and my sister feel so helpless. All that we can do, is sit with him and talk about our day (which makes us feel so bad as it's a completely different life to what he is living). I am reaching out in the hope that someone can just give me some advice, tell me what I can expect over the coming weeks etc. Thank you
Hi CLJonesy I cannot add to what Kegsy has said, as she has explained it beautifully. I just wanted to pop on and say how very sorry that dad is going through this, and I know how tough this is for you.
There is support for you to help you through this difficult time. You can come here to chat, but there is also a group Supporting someone with incurable cancer forum which you may find helpful. Here you will meet other people in a very similar situation to yourself.
You can also call the Macmillan support line. They are available 7 days a week from 8am until 8pm on 0808 808 00 00.
I do hope dad is as comfortable as can be.
