Terminally Ill Father

concerned_daughter · Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2006 10:57 pm Post subject: Terminally Ill Father

Back in 2003 my father was diagnosed with gastric cancer, and after rounds of chemo and radiation the chemo went away. Or so we thought.
This past April my dad was re-diagnosed with metatastic gastric cancer. Doctors have told us there is nothing they can do for him to cure the cancer, except give him chemotherapy that will prolong his life.
Well its been about 5 months now, and my father is deterierating before our eyes. The chemo has caused him to lose 60 pounds, his hair, nearly all his strength and there are days when we see him mentally gone.

My parents are considering the idea of cancelling the chemo treatment to give him a better quality of life, now that the end is nearing. Now my question is, for those who are going through this as well.....what should we expect? I mean how much worse could he get? He doesn't get out of bed as it is, needs assistance getting around, eating, all daily things.....whats next?

concerned daughter2 · New User Joined: 25 Sep 2006 Posts: 2 Location: Ontario

I would like to add that he currently has pnemonia (sp?) Please help us understand what is to come.

drvk · New User Joined: 18 Sep 2006 Posts: 7

i am very sorry to hear abt ur dad. my dad too is suffering from gastric cancer which is at an advanced stage. unfortunately gastric cancer is not usually detected early and hence is invariably too advanced for surgery, which is the only hope for complete cure.

usually, the liver is the organ that is affected in advanced cases, leading to progressive deterioration of liver function. this apparently renders the patient susceptible to infections. also the patient may also start accumulating fluid in the abdomen, which causes him to lose protein, which again drains him of his vitality.

i think in ur case, u need to really treat his pneumonia aggressively with high end antibiotics. ur primary target now shud be to cure his pneumonia and then worry about the chemo.

in my dad's case too, the doctors are not sure what to do next.

i think in such situations the quality of life shud be the main concern. giving chemo will definitely make life worse without the guarantee of positive results.

i hope things turn out well for ur dad. there is little we can do but keep faith and pray for them.

concerned_daughter · Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 10:09 am Post subject: Re: Terminally Ill Father

Yes the cancer has already spread to my fathers liver. The portal vein is clotted, and there are small tumors forming on it as well. They are worried mainlly that the vein will burst, causing him to die instantly...but again the doctors are claiming there is nothing they can do for him.

The pnemonia comes and goes, we think its gone....the doctors put him on chemo again....and a week later the pnemonia is back worse than it was before. We're starting to wonder if the doctors are doing there jobs or not?

drvk · New User Joined: 18 Sep 2006 Posts: 7

there's not much anyone can do abt these things, we just have to accept the reality of the situation. in my dad's case, he seemed to be on the road to recovery until today, when a new problem emerged. he had bleeding in the urine which is apparently due to a polyp in the bladder which was inactive till now.

i dont know when the tide will turn for my dad. he's had so much bad luck lately. i mean the law of averages got to catch up rite? the lord's probably taking a nap, he doesn't seem to hear my prayers....

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