Results are in...Not good.

Prayers are with you and your family.

Clara

Hospice is all about comfort. Palliative care means no more treatments with curative intent. It already sounds like the treatment have done as much damage as the disease by this point. Hospice is manned by volunteers. They have some criteria to qualify for it, like no treatments aside from those to treat symptoms and keep a person comfortable.

My sister was on TPN (liquid nutrition) for the last few months her life and did not want to give it up, so she never qualified for hospice and we cared for her ourselves at home, it was extremely hard on the family. But of course we wouldn't have wanted it any other way, she wished to be home and not in a nursing home.

In order to keep her as comfortable as possible, she had a permanent IV line that dripped dilaudid (pain killer), with a pump she could use to get a booster shot of it when needed. The IV also infused Zantac, as she could not keep anything down. Steroids were also part of the mix.

We have a section about metastatic blc, and end of life issues that can be considered.
blcwebcafe.org/metatcc.asp Maybe there's some links or info that can help.

Best to you and your father,
Wendy

He can try zantac for that stomach problem.

I am sorry to hear of the results of your dads test. I remember answering your first post, the thing that struct me was his bladder hardening like a stone. Now that the tests are done he will be needing Hospice or the pre-hospice care. The loss of appetite is a sign of things going arye. His weight issue at 106 is devistating, so my suggestion is to keep him comfy cozy,and pain free, be with him as much as you can through these days of his illness. I wish we had met you sooner, and not under these circumstances.. God Bless you and your dad,,,Ginger Beane

I am so sorry to hear about your Dad. But do call hospice. They will make sure that his pain is minimal and that he is well taken care of. Hospice is for everyone. You don't need insurance to qualify. You will have to decide if he will be better served at home, or in a hospital setting.

God Bless You and Your Family,
Karen

Hospice offers a number of services that will benefit your father, including palliative care. Give them a call. I am quite certain that, with your doctor's recommendation, your dad will qualify.

Hi Everyone!
Well, we went to get the results of my dad's PET scan yesterday. The cancer has spread to his right pelvic bone and right hip and is going down the bone is his leg. The doctor was stunned because the cancer showed up exactly where they had did radiation to avoid it from spreading to that area, but it didn't work. He also has two spots on his lung that look to be the beginning of cancer there also. Both the chemo and radiation doctors (we saw the other one today) have agreed that chemo and radiation would not be an alternative any longer. They will start pallative??? care on Monday and have suggested to go ahead and call Hospice. They have changed his pain medicine from Lortab/Hydrocodone to now Percocet every 4-6 hours and oxycodone every 12 hours. They did put him back on the Megace for his appetite. He is down to 106lbs and cannot eat much of anything. He doesn't have the taste for it and says that just one bite of anything hurts his stomach and causes acid reflux really bad. He is in so much pain. I asked about clinical trials, that was turned away immediately, he basically is too frail for any chemo, he can barely get out of the bed and they said that the chemo would only make it worse. I feel like they are kinda writing him off, But I am not naive either, I do see where they are coming from. Am I missing something? Is there anything left to try, he is just giving up now and I feel so bad, I don't know what else to do. What all can Hospice offer? Will he be able to benefit from them with no insurance? What exactly does pallative care involve other than a prelude to Hospice? I am sorry that I have a million questions, I am just very upset and confused and don't know where else to go from here.