Hi wise MNers. My wonderful father was given a stage 4 bowel cancer diagnosis at the end of July. Long story the nhs were a fucking disgrace for at least 6months prior but that is a separate story, I only add it here because I will give very short shrift to anyone extolling how great it is.
They have, yesterday, decided to stop any treatment and he is moving to only palliative symptom management. He was getting a good response from the chemo but he is weak and even though the main tumour is shrinking on it his symptoms of a full bowel obstruction has jumped a level and seems to be getting worse. He has no secondary metastases, it is all just around the small bowel but it is tangled with the blood vessels to the whole of the bowel making surgery not an option.
He is on tpn so enough calories are going in, but the bowel obstruction means he is being sick and he isn't passing wind. The doctors have given him a prognosis now of weeks, a couple of months if he is lucky.
Can someone with any more experience tell me what I may expect? If that's even possible. He is 75, previously (as recently as July) was one of the youngest and fittest 75year olds around. I am just in complete shock and utterly utterly heartbroken.
What can the palliative team actually do? Just drug him up so he's a zombie until he dies? Currently he is tired but completely lucid and chatty when he is awake. Doesn't have the strength to go for a walk but can wander round the house once he is up fine enough. The surgeon yesterday suggested reducing the calorific load in the tpn but that surely is just going to starve him to death. This last suggestion may summarise the care we have received so far....
If you made it to the end, thank you.