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@knshopper @miscanthus, I think you are wise to seek out palliative care whether your loved one continues with treatment or not. Palliative care are experts in symptom management and comfort care.
It is hard to know how the disease will progress for each individual and at what rate. That said, this article from Virtual Hospice helps to prepare for the final days:
- Final weeks and days: What to expect https://www.virtualhospice.ca/en_US/Main+Site+Navigation/Home/Topics/Topics/Final+Days/Final+weeks+and+days_+What+to+expect.aspx
Hospice is care provided either in your own home or you can opt for residential hospice, meaning the patient moves into the hospice home. Hospice care is care specifically when the end is in sight, typically 6 months or less (this may vary where you live).
The important thing to know about both palliative care and hospice care is that there is support for family members too, including specialized social workers, chaplains, grief specialists and more.
Let me know if you'd like more information about palliative care and/or hospice care. Did you know that they are slightly different?
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@colleenyoung
Thank you for the information. I saved all of it. I do know about palliative care and hope to get a referral to a doctor practicing palliative medicine or possibly an oncology social worker.
Next week my husband will see his urologist for his post-TURBT-surgery appointment. We've already seen the pathology report and know his cancer (non-muscle invasive in situ) is still there. He's had six years of treatments and surgeries.
His doctor says he is running out of options, as the drug he planned to go with isn't available (Adstiladrin). Which leaves pallative care, or clinical trials. A radial cystectomy isn't a possiblity since John has demensia. Right now he is in the milder stage and still has independence. But he does not have the capicity to handle the changes bladder removal would bring.
So, right now our plan is to ask the urology how long John could expect to live, if he does nothing, going forward, to treat his cancer.