I live 300 miles away from my mum so am currently doing 4 days a fortnight seeing her every day then coming back to catch up with children, house, dogs etc. She was admitted with severe jaundice which was gallstones but scans revealed stage 4 lung cancer. She is 78. She had an ERCP, they couldn’t remove the stones so put in 2 stents and the jaundice is clearing well, she is eating, drinking and mobile. She knows that the cancer is incurable and she has accepted this - she just wants to be at home and live the rest of her time to the best quality. She is in a gastroenterology ward.
The nurse told me last week she’d be discharged as soon as they were happy with her bloods, which were not stable. A couple of days later they found a shadow on her liver. They want to do more tests and a procedure (I assume a biopsy) and told her she needs to be walking around, eating more and regaining her strength. She has been told that she will be referred to MacMillan for a palliative care plan.
today she was really upset because the consultant said she shouldn’t be walking around, she is very ill and will not be going home without having a carer in place. My dad is very healthy and active and has been doing her washing and keeping the house going, they are very independent and they basically thought a carer would be the next stage, not now.
My dad wants me to help to find out the true picture. Sometimes my mum misses things if it’s a different consultant who doesn’t realise she has to put her hearing aids in.
Has anyone been through similar please? I would be grateful for any advice on what I should be asking, how quickly things move when MacMillan are involved. Does palliative care mean she will have to have a carer and should we be prepared for her to deteriorate quickly? If you saw her now you would only suspect she was poorly because of the jaundice, she is bright, lively and mobile.