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What Will A Death From Cancer Be Like?
Filed Under (Pancreatic Cancer) by admin on 16-11-2009
Tagged Under : Cancer, Death, From, Like, What, Will
My grandfather was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in October. The surgery to remove the tumor was unsuccessful, and they gave him 6 months to live (which will end in April). A recent CT scan shows the cancer has spread to his lymph nodes and lungs.
He is the first person in our family to have cancer, and he is the first person I have been close to who is going to die from it, so I have no idea what to expect.
What is a death from cancer like? Is it serene and peaceful, or is it violent? What is the ultimate cause of death– stopping breathing? So far what I have read indicated that fluid will build up in his lungs and he will slowly (but peacfully) stop breathing.
If anyone has had a close friend or relative die of cancer, I would like to hear your stories of what the death was like, and what I might expect in the last few days and final hours of his life.
My grandma died last year from cancer. I know what you are going through, and I’m sorry.
Although the cancer ultimately took my grandma’s life, luckily it wasn’t the painful horrible ending some people go through. She became very tired and slept a lot. For her, this was the worst part, boredom of not having enough energy to particate in activities she enjoyed. Towards the end, she just began to lose her appetite. Gradually (the last week of her life) she just stopped eating and drinking. The last two days she lived, she never even went to bathroom to urinate. I think this was how she died. No food or water to sustain her. But, she never got the horrible nausea or edured any real physical pain. And the symptoms I’ve talked about didn’t start happening until the last month of her life. (the 6th of the 6 the doctor predicted).
Hopefully this makes you feel better… Knowing that your grandpa might not die a painful death. I hope so.
sorry to hear about your grandpaa,
most of the cancer death’s are peaceful & most of the death happened during 3-5 am in morning.
I am so sorry to hear about your grandfather. That is horrible. I lost my grandfather to cancer 20 years ago this year. He was in the hospital a lot (I was only 18, so I am going on what I remember), and they were working to keep him as comfortable as they could until the end – there is a lot of pain and suffering. He had pretty good pain management from his doctors, since he was in a lot of pain, and then he would slip in and out of consciouness. Finally, he slipped away.
My Great Grandmother also had cancer and she died very much the same way, she didn’t have the benefit of good pain control though, and she was in a lot more pain, and ready to go. (The doctors told her she had 6 months and she lived 6 years though, without chemo, so you never know.)
Best to you and your family.
death from cancer is usually peaceful as the patient is given morphine to ease the pain,death is rarely violent
I’m sorry to hear about your grandfather. A good friend of my family was diagnosed in November 2007 and died the end of February. He didn’t have health insurance so he moved about 5 hours north of where we live to receive treatment from a medical school. He would call my Aunt at least once a week and every time she’d talked to him he’d tell her that he was getting better. This went on for a few months then towards the end of February the calls stopped. He hadn’t called for about 10 days so my Aunt called his sister and she told her that he had been in intensive care unit for 2 days and they were going to transfer him to hospice. The doctors said he had maybe a week left in him. So we drove up to Cocoa Beach to say good bye to him. He didn’t look like him self at all. He lost a lot of weight his cheeks were sunken in he was very weak you could tell it took a lot of energy for him to say things. He still recognized everyone around him but couldn’t really have a conversation. I’m not sure but i think it was because of the medications he was on. He slept a lot. He would nod in and out of consciousness it was almost like his minds way of coping. There were time when he’d wake up confused and try pulling the ivs out. I wouldn’t say it was violent, but it was heartbreaking and was not easy.
My moms best friend, who is 51, is currently battling islet cell carcinoma which i don’t know much about except that its extremely rare cancer. The first doctor she went to told her it was pancreatic cancer and had 2-6 months to live and to go home and get her things in order. She wasn’t settling for 2-6 months so she saw 2 more doctors the third one told her they could do chemo to try to shrink the tumors and remove them. Over the past 2 and a half years she’s tried different types of chemo one of the drugs does shrink the tumors but they have spread and there are too many for them to go in and remove. Right as of now she’s doing well not getting better but staying the same which is a good thing i guess you could say. Just because they “gave” him 6 months to live doesn’t mean he’s going to pass on in April. Nobody knows for sure. Just let him know everyday how much you love him and spend as much time as you can with him. Think positively and don’t give up hope.
Every death is different. My mother, brother and little sister had cancer. My Mom and sister were in pain in the end. They were given Morphine to sedate them.Both were Christians. They were both strong. My brother died peacefully in his sleep. They are all together now in heaven. I myself have cancer in my spine and bones and I am not as afraid of death due to their courage and Faith.
I’m so sorry about your grandpa. I dont want to hurt you but I do want you to know the truth. It does hurt, bad.It seems easier to watch, and the sad thing is, most people do horribly with it. He will have an easy death, but fighting the cancer will be hard. I hope the best for your grandpa and I’m sorry.
[x]melanieinuyasha
I’ll let you know what I went through, what it felt like and how I dealt with it, but mind you, I am only 19.
Well, on Mother’s day (last day I seen her alive) I went on with my day, how I am used to being. Knowing she was alive still on Mother’s day just heart-warming, but the sight of her almost dead tore me apart. It was the day before Mother’s day. I went in the hospital’s smoking room with my cigarettes and a notebook with a pen, and I just wrote. She looked non-responsive, darker than usual and well, dead in all area’s. I fell asleep early on Mother’s day. And I woke up at Noon the same day, so I only got about five hours of sleep. I sat by my mother knowing she would want someone she recognizes right by her side. She woke up and the nurses came in. While the nurses were there, I wasn’t going to be in the room cause I know my mom hates hospitals (with a passion). I went in the room where my brothers were, and it was just disgusting to me.. but when it was time to go.. I went up, looked at her, and said “Happy Mother’s day, I love you and goodbye.” (goodbye means forever to me, that I won’t see someone again.) I knew she wasn’t going to make it another day, not long enough for my father to see her just once more. I left with tears down my cheeck. At around one o’clock the next morning, I called the hospital just to make sure she made it through Mother’s day. I went to sleep in peace.. just to wake up to the news she had passed away. I cried myself back to sleep, but I couldn’t sleep. I called a friend to be around. Everything was different, I would hear my mom’s voice at night, I would either cry myself to sleep or drink myself to sleep. It was hard, no one knew exactly what I was going through. I turned to friend’s parents for comfort and advice. I kept one friend REALLY close, and the rest I pushed away.
It’s hard.. no doubt about that, I’m still not over it. I sometimes cry when I speak of my mother and about her death.
I cried SO hard at her funeral.. from the moment I went up to her casket to the end of it.. when I got back at a friend’s house, I slept. I knew who I was comfortable around, who to talk to, and I still do. I won’t hesistate to hurt anyone who talks about my mother who doesn’t know her at all (which no one where I live does).
The memories haunted me, and I knew she wouldn’t want me to mourn over her death, it’s hard to lose someone that you always go to for advice, just to get a hug, or just talk to on a daily basis. I ended up moving to a different state cause I knew I wasn’t going anywhere with my life.
It still hurts ten months later to know I will never get another hug from her, but I do have at least one person who cares enough to just hold me.
That’s all that matters.. someone who will say I’m here for you instead of It’s going to be OK.
Cause it won’t be OK, ever.
Sorry this was a little long.
There is a famous professor named Randy Pausch who has the same cancer and is farther along than your father. You can access his web pages online. He documents his illness. He also has a video that was nominated for an award on YouTube for 2007. You can access 2007 video awards on YouTube and find it there. It is in the inspirational section. He talks about his illness on the video.
Randy’s website will connect you to pancreatic cancer websites where you can find the information that you seek. You already know the worst about pancreatic cancer. Pain is probably treated with morphine which will be administered in high doses toward the end. During the last few days of his life, he will be sleeping due to the morphine.
This is a hard thing to go through, but your grandfather got to live a long time and so he had a full life. Some, people get cancer while they are still young, which can be exceptionally tragic.
Hello I am very sad to hear about your dear grandfather. I lost the love of my life last November from Oesophageal cancer.
Well the primary cancer was that and it then spread to his lymph nodes and lungs and spine and he ended up paralysed from the chest down. I brought my dear darling home as he wished to pass at home. You are right in saying the the fluid will build up on the lungs and the noise of this when they breathe can be quite distressing. However with most dying cancer patients they are on morphine which keeps them calm and free of pain. Please remember that even if your grandfather seems asleep all the time and doesnt wake up for long periods he can still hear you.
My partner died when noone was in the room with him because he obviously wanted it that way. There were some horrific nights where he would take a breath and take forever to breathe out again. I am happy for you to email me with any questions you may have. You have to go through losing someone to know what it is like. All the very best, god bless.
Sorry to hear about your grandfather. I lost my Mum last Sept to kidney cancer it was very aggressive she was sick only four months from diagnosing to passing away. I was very close to my mother she was my best friend. Me and my sister became her full time carers, i am only 29 so it was hard to deal with seeing Mum so ill on a daily basis. From my experience Mums passing was NOT serene and peaceful. I witnessed it first hand and honestly it was terrible to watch someone you love fade away. Mum of course was on all the appropriate pain management but Mum went into what is called terminal restlessness. a few days before she pasted she was basically in a coma. The night before she pasted every time she breathed she let out a scream when she exhaled. It was horrendous to watch but Mum was not in pain. She waited to the morning and then stopped breathing. But you need not worry about such things i doubt you will be there when your grandfather passes. It is not a nice thing to witness. All the best, xx Cancer is a terrible terrible disease.