my father 71

debjones

I don't know where to start, but here it goes. My father was diagnosed on November 12, 2002 with non-small cell lung cancer, stage 4. It has went to the liver and to the lymph nodes. They gave him maybe 6 months without treatment. Maybe a year with chemo. Radiation wasn't an option nor was surgery. He didn't want the treatments, instead he wanted his quality of life. This all start on October 12, 2002 when he had pneumonia. He spent 2 weeks in the hospital, the first day there the doctors told us that they think there is a mass on his lung. But they had to wait until the puemonia cleared up, before they could do anything. He also has 3 blockages of the heart and both legs have blockages as surgery was not an option. Well he has been at home and since christmas things have changed. Hospice comes in 2 times a week. He is on oxygen 24/7. We had a bed put in his living room as he can't climb steps. He sleeps alot and started pain medication about a month ago. He has had a terrible itch that they can't seem to control. The last couple of days he has been nausea and vomiting. He is also having trouble with urinating and bowel movements. There are 6 of us kids, 3 of us work fulltime and 3 don't work. So we are taking turns. I guess my question is does anyone know what signs to look for when he starts to go down hill. I don't know what to expect and it scares me and my siblings. What is causing the vomiting? I am so obsessed with this that it is hard to concentrate on anything. I sleep for a couple of hours and then I wake up and he is the first thing that comes to mind. Please help me with any advice. Please help me.
Deb

michaelcie

hi, my friend just went through this, if he has been put on morphine,that is one thing that causes nausea and vomiting. I don't know about the itch, a sign that my friend was getting worse was "sleep apneia", where he would quit breathing, after that he passed away in two days. I know this is very hard for your family and I will pray for you. I also have lung cancer (small cell) and is inoperable so I know a little of both sides of this issue. God bless. Mike

bobz1

Hi Sweetheart.Im so sorry to hear about your Dad.I also am a Lung Cancer Survivor. I do some work at hospis here in town.Death is a normal part of living. We must all go. I know just how hard it is to know that any day may be the last. Just Love him and be near him. He will feel your love.When the End is near the Organs will start to shut down one at a time, and nature will take its course.With Hospis there the end should be painless. He will just slip away. I hope I helped in some way,Ill say a Prayer for your family...Bobz1

Donna

I'm so sorry to hear about your father. I just lost my Dad who was 56 to non-small cell. My Dad was diagnosed in Nov 2002 and we lost him on Jan. 24, 2003. Morphine causes nausea and vomiting and can also cause constipation. When cancer spreads to the liver, this can cause nausea also. My Dad had nausea and vomiting the last 5 weeks of his life. If your Dad is having trouble urinating, he may be dehydrated and his kidneys are starting to have trouble functioning. My Dad turned yellow 2 weeks before he died. The last few weeks of his life, he was very weak and unable to walk without help. He was very dehydrated and barely going to the bathroom. His doctors didn't tell him or us that he was terminal because I don't think they knew. He was diagnosed as Stage 3 but I don't think this was correct because his cancer was already in his hip at the time of diagnosis but they overlooked the hip at first. He was told on 12/3 by his oncologist that he had a good chance of beating the cancer because he was in great health otherwise. His doctors told him to do aggressive radiation and chemo. He did 5 weeks of radiation at a high dosage which further weakened him. He was scheduled to do 7 weeks but died after week 5. His last week of life was spent in the hospital, the doctors ran 7 tests on him trying to determine if his cancer had spread to his liver and had him go to radiation each day by ambulance. We know now that his body was shutting down that last week but no one told us. I really think they didn't know or they wouldn't kept running tests and making him do radiation. That last week, his body was building up fluid and his breathing was very labored. We think the fluid build up was from his liver and kidneys not working as they should because of the cancer. The doctors never did determine if the cancer had spread to his liver. They assume it did. My Dad quit breathing on 1/23 and was put on a ventilator. We believe he quit breathing because of the fluid build up. He died 10 hours later. Hospice should be able to tell you when they feel your Dad is getting near the end. My uncle died of lung cancer in 1999 and his hospice nurse told us when he had a few days left and she was right. My husband's mother died of lymphoma and the nurses told us when she was near the end and they were right also. I know what you mean about not being able to sleep. I have difficulty sleeping the whole time my Dad was sick. I went to bed thinking about him and woke up through the night worrying about him. Now that he is gone, I dream about him all the time and still wake up thinking about him. I will pray for you, your Dad, and your family. Cancer is a horrible thing to have to endure. I wish you all the best.
Donna

nonigirl

: HI there, I felt I had to respond to this..I am so sorry to hear about you and your father, but I may be able to help...I heard about a fruit juice called Tahitian Noni Juice about 7 months ago...I went to www.incc.org and read all of the testimonies about people who were given 2-3 weeks to live and started drinking this all natural fruit juice in large amounts and the cell count was back to normal..I know this may sound too good to be true, because I said the same thing, until they found some cancerous cells in my mother's breast and I got the juice and gave it to her...when it was time for her to get another checkup, all of her cells were fine and the Dr. could not find a trace of cancer in her body. The only thing she did different was drink the juice....I became a distributor of the juice that day and have made it a personal mission of mine to let people know that this "God's gift in a bottle" really does work..For anyone that would like more information, please go to www.incc.org. This is a site that medical doctors put together and discussed their research on how this noni fruity helps cancer patients. You can also go to nonitestimonials.com and hear live testimonies for yourself and you can get some reading material from www.nonitools.com. My name is Kristi and I would like to help everyone I can and let this know about this product. You are all in my prayers and God bless...If you would like to speak with me personally, or to try the juice, please contact me at ANYTIME at 678-358-3358.

Ginelle

Hi Deb, I'm so sorry to hear about your dad, my dad has lung cancer too, he was diagnosed in december 2002, he is in chemo now, his first chemo was the worst he had an intestinal obstruction and was hospitalized for 2 weeks, but now he is stable, he is breathing much better, he choosed the treatment to have a hope and to feel a little better. We are trying to be positive and help him in this moments. Stay with your father and give him love and comfort. God bless you.
Ginelle

debjones

Ginelle said:

Hi Deb, I'm so sorry to hear about your dad, my dad has lung cancer too, he was diagnosed in december 2002, he is in chemo now, his first chemo was the worst he had an intestinal obstruction and was hospitalized for 2 weeks, but now he is stable, he is breathing much better, he choosed the treatment to have a hope and to feel a little better. We are trying to be positive and help him in this moments. Stay with your father and give him love and comfort. God bless you.
Ginelle

Ginelle,
Just want to thank you for your message. Also to let you know that my father passed away on 3/13/03. He went very peacefully, but I am feeling really empty inside right now.
Talk with you later
Deb A