My MIL had her CT scan reveal a tumor forming on the tail of her pancreas. She has appt to see oncologist.
From a caregiver's standpoint, what additional caregiving needs will she most likely require?
Obviously, the post surgical care. H and I are preparing to handle this, but what other daily issues can I expect? Example: diarrhea, vomiting, meals in bed, sponge baths...
What have others experienced?
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1. Familiarize yourself with CURE, a magazine now online and devoted to cancer. Articles range from coping to very specific medical issues including various treatments, stages, etc., and how each can affect the individual.
2. Research online for a local Gilda's Club, which focuses on support for people with cancer. I believe it consolidated with another organization sometime ago, but I also think the primary goal remained as cancer.
3. Gilda's Club also used to have groups focusing on specific cancers, as well as pot-luck dinners for families dealing with cancer. From what I could tell, it offers a good foundation for support.
During my sister's later stages of metastatic breast cancer, she developed a variety of changes, including some breathing difficulty, instability while standing, need for excessive sleep (very important!), anxiety and fear (as did I), inability to tolerate visitors for more than a short period (such as 15 min. or so) b/c it was so exhausting to interact with others, loss of appetite (one of the harder side effects), and hair loss and weakness.
Something we did during the later stages was to play a CD with soft music, or waves lapping on a shore, something very soothing as sleep also became elusive even though fatigue existed in high levels.
Will she be going to rehab after surgery?
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Adding from looking it up online cancer in the tail of pancreas is worse than cancer in head of pancreas. But really it all hinges on if it has spread to other areas. Always ask about quality of life rather than quantity in regards to treatment and life expectancy outcome for mom.