We were told to prepare for Dad's death, but he is now talking, awake and baffling nurses. Is he improving or rallying?

Enjoy the lucid moments! The end is probably very near, so love him all you can, and assure him you will be okay.

Even if it rallying, be thankful for the extra time. :-)

If continues to show strength, research the ketogenic diet. The human body can have its miracles, though small, so don't rely too much on what the medical staff thinks and look at how your father presents himself.

Four years ago, my mother presented with sepsis. She was immediately given a broadspectrum IV antibiotic while the ER doctor was waiting for the lab results. The doctor said Mom has to be admitted for aggressive ICU care to save her life. A few months prior to this emergency, she was  showing very, very early signs of mobility decline, such as using a walker to get around. I told him no to the ICU admission and that I want Mom going home on Hospice with an oral antibiotic - no refills. He gently told me the oral antibiotic won't be of any benefit because her death is imminent. I wouldn't back down. I told him I won't leave the hospital without the prescription for the antibiotic, which was a two week supply at three times a day. Right after Mom was settled in our home on hospice and the urinary catheter was put in, I gave her - a lot of fluids (both water and Glucerna for the nutrition) - to flush the bug out of her system. She had a few downs but a few more ups. Two weeks later - she fully recovered from sepsis - in our home.  I'm very thankful I have the extra time with her - but I won't agree, won't pursue anymore treatment because in the last year, she's really started to decline. It's simply not fair to her. She's ready to be with my deceased father.

He's probably just having a few better moments that are temporary!

Annie71,
Brings to my mind 'terminal lucidity'. My mother-in-law had severe Dementia, but the day before she died from an abdominal cavity tumor she became quite lucid; so much so that my sister-in-law was very surprised. If you're not familiar with 'terminal lucidity' you can do an Internet search and see how it affected other terminally ill patients.

In regards to the possibility of 'terminal lucidity', your Dad may have been blessed with the last opportunity to express his love to you. Embrace his love and prepare your heart!

The other possibility is that he has improved due to not feeding the cancer with sugar, as one of the other members posted.

And finally, the other possibility is that he may be experiencing a miraculous healing and is on the way to recovery. Never discount the possibility of miraculous healing, but at the same time prepare your heart if it's his time to pass.

God bless!

I'm sorry for what you are going through-it is indeed, baffling, but oh, so very common. We were summoned to my FIL's "deathbed" 3 times. He'd go in and out of a coma and they'd think "this is it" and we'd get called--the night before he died he ate a big dinner & was talking about going to Spain.
Within 10 hours, he passed away.

This "rally" is very common. It's hard on the loved ones, who watch and wait and are so exhausted from the watching and waiting, but it is what it is.

Take care of yourself during this stressful time.

Did you have prayer chains for your father? I have seen recovery after the family is called in - my own dad was in this position with his heart.

The family rallied and dad out lived Mom by 7.5 years and we were told he was dying about 10 years earlier.

So. It could be either. My friend's mother was in a similar position and lived several more months. My husband's oldest sister - we were called in several times as she was dying, each time was followed by another year of his sister living.

Sounds like a rally. Mom was like that on her birthday and then she died a week later. So, don't get your hopes up too high. 😕

Both my mother and my sister died from cancer and spent their last days in hospice. Both of them went through the same "rallying" period. After not eating anything substantial, both regained healthy appetites, but only for a day or two. Also both became alert and engaged, but only for a day or two. Enjoy the moments, but sadly, this will probably end and the shutting down will continue. Sending you and yours good energy......a tough period.....

Well ... most cancers feed off sugar. (Starches are broken down into sugar by the body.) If he is eating little, he might be starving the cancer. You may want to research the ketogenic (high fat, low carb) diet, which has had some success in putting cancer into remission. Perhaps your dad's body instinctively knows what to do. The medical practitioners around him, however, are less enlightened.

When my husband was on hospice care in a nursing home, his team mentioned rallying but failed to tell me it is a temporary stage. With hindsight, I believe that when my husband said, "If I can't come home, I want to die," it was a form of rallying because it was so explicit. I was unable to care for him at home any longer. He died a few days later.

Annie, sounds like it could be rallying which is common when someone body is shutting down.

And there are those misc times when someone is put on Hospice that they graduate from Hospice because they are doing much better. For those times I think it has to do with Hospice stopping all regular medication which might had been the underlining factor for the original condition.

My Mom stopped eating first. She was still talking (ok babble...but that was normal talk for her) and drinking a bit. This lasted over a week while she was still drinking fluids.

Once she stopped taking any fluids, she was also on serious amounts of morphine for pain. That was about 4 days more. She was not conscious during those last days.

Hospice nurses were amazed at how she hung on so long.

I am sorry for what you are going through..and what is to come for you. Be strong. Make sure you do not do this alone! *hugs*