What are the final stages of brain and spinal cancer?!
Question:
What are the final stages of brain and spinal cancer?
I have a brother dieing of cancer . Please help me to understand the final stages of what he is going thru and what I can expect. Help me to understand his pain and how to deal with it.
Answers:
My heart goes out to you and your family at this time. I know what it's like to walk a family member through the stages of dying and then to be there when it takes place to see them out of this life.
Your brother will be provided with pain medication, most likely morphine sulfate. He will kept as pain-free as possible and the morphine will be administered on a routine basis and for breakthrough pain. The idea will be to prevent pain rather than treat pain.
What can you expect? Not all people experience all the phenomena of end-stage brain & spinal cancers. These are decreased mobility and muscle wasting, incontinence, preoccupation or distancing, headaches, increased sleeping, decreased eating, increasing confusion, childlike behaviors, hallucinations, difficulty with speech or conversation, personality changes, agitation, seizures, vision changes or blindness, references to travel or the end of life, nausea and vomiting, decreased talking, decreased drinking, swallowing problems, inability to keep eyes open for very long, low-grade fever, restless legs, serenity, coma, changes in breathing and death.
These are more or less in order of occurrence. Help your brother face his impending death by helping him resolve any conflicts, by helping him find meaning in his life. The entire family can review his life and point out the good things he's done, how much he's contributed and how important he is to each of you. It's okay to talk about death and how very much you'll miss him. Don't avoid using the words "death" and "dying". Use them as often as appropriate. Don't use euphenisms like "passing" or "leaving". These words avoid the truth of what is happening. Answer any questions he may have as honestly as you can. Help him through the stages of anticipatory grieving by going through these stages with him. Assure him that he is loved without question. And finally, tell him it's okay to die and he won't die alone. Keep your word to him. His last breath will a sigh. Very gentle, very peaceful and very final.