A lot has happened since the BBQ a few weeks ago. We knew mom was scheduled to meet with Dr. Eaton on August 10th to determine if she would continue with her medical treatment. A few days before her appointment she told us she had already made her decision to stop treatment. She has explained to us that over the years she was usually holding her breath waiting for her scan results, hoping for good results. Going into her appointments she never seemed to know what to expect. She has admitted to everyone that recently, she didn't need a scan to tell her that her cancer had gotten worse. She already knew because she felt so much worse. Dr. Eaton was happy that mom agreed to stop treatment. He said although he would like to tell her that her cancer was stable, he knows that it is growing and he thinks it would be "irresponsible" to continue treating her with chemotherapy options. The chemotherapy is hurting her body, not helping it. Once mom got past the idea that she was "giving up", she has seemed to be at peace with her decision to stop taking meds and start living life.
On August 10th, mom agreed to begin working with hospice. As a family, we think that is the right choice. We had a good, yet brief, experience with hospice last year with my dad. We will certainly get to know our hospice team much more than we did when they were assisting my dad. My dad was on hospice for 6 or 7 days. Mom has told us repeatedly that she intends to stay on hospice for so long they kick her off the program because she isn't "sick enough". I hope she is right. In the mean time, we had our first family hospice meeting this past saturday to discuss options. We feel comfortable with them and we look forward to welcoming them into our lives.
Mom has spent the past few days with Angie and Shannon at the Alderbrook Resort, getting massages and eating good food. I have spoken with her a few times and it sounds like she is having a blast. She gets home today and I'm sure she is going to be exhausted... in a good way. That's what we like to see.
Dreaming Big-
Amy
From the first time I heard your families journey, Sept. '07 http://charliecinasplace.blogspot.com/2007/09/celebrate-remember-fight-back.html I've been continually inspired to do MORE! To give back MORE. To help do what I can do find a cure!
ReplyDeleteHugs and prayers to all of you....Kathy, Victor & Charlie Cina...Relay friends in Oregon...
Hospice is wonderful - a caring team that is unafraid of end-of-life discussions, which most of our society shies away from. If only we could all look at it with clear eyes, embrace the final leg of the journey, and help make it more peaceful for the traveler. When my close friend was near his end, he often told me he didn't think he was 'doing it right' whatever that meant. Sheez.
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