Guest fight4dan Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Well, it gets good..and then bad..then good..then we just don't know. My FIL was finially moved to the Cancer center last Sunday. H has a team of Dpctors that are working with my family and FIL. One of our main problems that we had with the other hospital, was that they were constantly giving him drugs that were causing him to act loopy, thus they were not allowing time for the acess if the morphine pump was working. At the new cancer center, they adjusted his morphine pump, by extracting the morphine and placing a new mixture in the pump. However, they then gave him one of those gadgets that you press, when you are in pain to release morphine. So..he is constantly doped up, groggy and mostly out of it. He has lost his appetite and falls asleep in mid sentence. My Husband and I are only able to talk to him on the phone, so hearing him like this is just heart wrenching. Plus, we want to be able to communicate with him, as we don't know how much time is left. If you only new my FIL prior to all this SCLC stuff, you would be in awe. He is something else..funny, sarcastic, giving, loving, brutally honest and has a heart of gold. The cancer hospital that he is at is great. They have put my MIL at ease and are going to be proving counseling to my FIL and family. They are giving him the best level of care, but the pain is a real issue..still!!!The Dr's did a bone scan on Friday to get a better pic of what is going on. They found a lesion in his arm and possibly his back. These lesions are in addition to the one in his pelvis, lung and adreanal gland. The one in the back is questionable, because of back surgery that was done 3 months ago..when he was misdiagonsed!!! The tumor in his pelvis is the size of a softball and has basically eaten away at the top of the pelvis bone. However, they state that its not on the ball joint. They say thats good news in terms of him possibly walking again. When he was transferred to the cancer center, they were very optimistic that he would walk. They need him to be able to gain strength to walk..so they can do chemo. They have sugegsted going into the pelvis and clamping the valve to the blood supply to stop the growth of the tumor. God, when I write all of this out..it really hits me. As of now..he is not strong enough to do the chemo. i wonder if the cancer is too far spread. I honestly don't know if they ever will be able to do the chemo. I don't know if he will ever go home. Is anyone on this board familiar with how the hospice processs works. After reading my posts, what do you all think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitzu Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Dear FightforDan, Unfortunately, it sounds like your FIL's cancer is very far spread and he won't just "walk on his own". This is a very aggressive cancer, it keeps spreading if not treated with chemo. Then, they have him on a pain pump which he presses every time he's in pain, so he must be pressing it a lot if he's that groggy. How is he even expected to walk? He is now at risk for falls because of the narcotic that's being pumped into his veins, and he'll be too sleepy to walk. Losing the appetite is not a good sign either. Are the doctors talking to your MIL about hospice? The doctor (in his case the oncologist) usually makes the referral to a hospice agency who then comes to the hospital to set up care for Dan when he goes home. Your in-laws would have to agree to it, of course. Hospice means he has 6 months or less to live, and all they're going to do is to make Dan comfortable at the end of life, offer emotional support to his family and some physical care (like an aide at home). If the doctor says that Dan has 2 weeks to live, then he qualifies for an inpatient hospice, like a "hospice hospital". They are not going to force him to eat, it's just comfort care, pain relief at the end of life and emotional support. I don't know what's best for Dan at this point. He and his family will have to decide. My father lived 3 years with SCLC, and that's because he got chemo as soon as he was diagnosed. Once the cancer spread, we attempted radiation (to the spine and brain), however he wasn't getting better and he was in a lot of pain. We decided to stop curative treatments and had hospice involved at home, where he died 2 1/2 months later. I'm so sorry you and your family have to go through this. I'll be praying for you and your in-laws. Keep us posted. We're here for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Wood Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Glad you FIL is getting good care. It is hard to know whether he will improve or not. My wife initially had five or six tumors in bones throughout her body, and she has been able, with radiation and chemi. to stave off the beast. Sounds like there are complicating factors in your FIL's case. Keep asking questions of the doctors so you know what the status is from time to time. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastCoastLadi Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 I'm very glad to hear that you FIL is more stablized. I know that w/ the morphine pump, the "bolises(sp?)" that your FIL can give himself are set up on intervals of so many minutes. Of course they can be altered by his dr. so it may be an issue of working out the best dosage at a certain amount of time. Your dad really can't get more morphine from the pump than he wants. Your husband or you may want to discuss that w/ his nursing staff, if you can't get in touch w/ the dr. I'm hoping now that your FIL has some good care that he will be able to get stronger... Grace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daggiesmom Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Reading your write up and glad to hear that he is getting good care. It sounds like they really are doing well by your FIL. This truly is a family disease, it hits everyone. I'm praying for your FIL and all of you that God will guide you all in your decisions. ((())) Joanie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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