Has this happened to anyone?

accordiongirl
accordiongirl Member Posts: 63
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

Hey all - so, my 83 yr old mom has throat cancer and she opted to not treat it.  She's been doing okay, but symptoms are increasing some.  She's been on hospice care for almost 4 months and i do have a nurse coming out tomorrow to check on this situation, but in the meantime, i thought i'd ask if anyone had experienced this situation or heard of it.  Mom was a bit "bound up" and was in the bathroom straining some and she reports that blood came gushing out of her mouth.  She is not presenty bleeding - it was only during straining (she did report that a day or two ago she coughed up some blood).

Is this something anyone has heard of or dealt with before?  Mom has been supper tired lately - pretty much falling asleep whenever she sits in her recliner for more than a few minutes - and i'm wondering if she's got a bleed somewhere if maybe she's anemic or something (or maybe it's the "normal" level of fatigue that comes with advancing disease)........i'm just not sure.

Anyway - if anyone has any thoughts, i'd welcome them.  i sure appreciate being able to come to this board and get help, advice, support, etc.

~ accordiongirl

Comments

  • wbcgaruss
    wbcgaruss Member Posts: 2,484 Member
    #2
    My thoughts are-

    It may be the normal progression of your mom's cancer to have some bleeding at times. I am glad you are registered and are dealing with hospice that way you have ready access to their help and expertise in a situation they are familiar with. Keep mom as comfortable as possible and I am glad you have a nurse visiting tomorrow as her training will be able to answer your questions. My input here probably is not much help but just more than anything would like to offer support to you by answering your post and sending prayers your way. Mom is very Blessed to have a daughter like you-stay strong and maybe someone else will post with some better answers for you-Take Care-god Bless.

  • accordiongirl
    accordiongirl Member Posts: 63
    #3
    wbcgaruss said:

    My thoughts are-

    It may be the normal progression of your mom's cancer to have some bleeding at times. I am glad you are registered and are dealing with hospice that way you have ready access to their help and expertise in a situation they are familiar with. Keep mom as comfortable as possible and I am glad you have a nurse visiting tomorrow as her training will be able to answer your questions. My input here probably is not much help but just more than anything would like to offer support to you by answering your post and sending prayers your way. Mom is very Blessed to have a daughter like you-stay strong and maybe someone else will post with some better answers for you-Take Care-god Bless.

    Thank you

    Thanks wbcgaruss, for your thoughts and kind words.  i think you're probably correct about the disease progression.  Mom hasn't had any bleeding since last night and we've put off the nurse visit (only because mom has plans to go see her great granddaughter in a musical this afternoon and she's determined not to miss those kinds of things as she knows they are her "last").  i totally support mom going to the show - there will be plenty of time to figure out this intermittent bleeding situation in the next few days.  Grateful that she is still able to attend special events.  She's having more pain and i can see her "slipping" as the days go by. Soon enough she won't be able to leave her apartment or take joy in anything - i want her to do as much as she wants while she can.  Some days it's so hard, knowing that "this is the year" that my mom will die......and not knowing when it'll happen.....puts your world on edge, for sure.  Grateful for this board and for all the support i see folks give each other - and to me.  It's much appreciated.

     

    ~ accordiongirl

  • bugsyboy
    bugsyboy Member Posts: 39
    #4
    Pain Meds Cause Constipation

    I agree with wbc and want to add that your mom is probably on some pretty heavy duty pain meds.  Be sure she's taking Colace or some other stool softener if she's not already.  And monitor her bm.  You don't want her getting backed-up in addition to all the other stuff she's going through.  

    Best of luck.

    Bugsy

  • accordiongirl
    accordiongirl Member Posts: 63
    #5
    bugsyboy said:

    Pain Meds Cause Constipation

    I agree with wbc and want to add that your mom is probably on some pretty heavy duty pain meds.  Be sure she's taking Colace or some other stool softener if she's not already.  And monitor her bm.  You don't want her getting backed-up in addition to all the other stuff she's going through.  

    Best of luck.

    Bugsy

    Not yet

    Actually, mom hasn't had much pain, thus far, so she's not on pain meds on a regular basis.  She has occasional pain in her face/head that we think is from her trigeminal nerve and will sometimes have a half a dose of morphine (she's VERY concerned about being "out of it", so she doesn't like taking them).  Hospice has been so good to be on top of things with her in terms of Mirolax, etc.  She's a tough one - the balance between stopped up and running like a faucet is very delicate and they've had a good thing going (no pun intended!) so far.  It's certainly something we have to keep monitoring, especially as her pain increases and the need for meds is more regular.

    Thanks for the words of advice - you are absolutely right about her not needing to get backed up on top of all the other things.

    ~ accordiongirl

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