Dad is gone
My dad died ten days ago of pancreatic cancer. He was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer only less than 4 weeks earlier. He went from living a happy life as a retired man to knocking at the hell's door. He stopped eating as soon as he started to have symptoms. He did want to do chemo but felt too weak. Doctors said he was not a candidate considering his status. I saw him declining day by day, I saw his pain growing and changing with time. I saw suffering no creature should experience or see experiencing. He spent the last 4 days at home. We told him he was going to come back home to recover a bit before starting chemo. It was a lie and he knew it but pretended it wasn't. He did not have the time to cope with his condition and process it. I spent those last days with him in bed listening to his loved music. I could see him following the rhythm with his fingers or commenting on a song when pain and morphine allowed him to be present. I was the one next to him when he took his last breath and I went to tell my mum and sister he stopped suffering. As much as I and all the family were relieved to see such suffering ending, I am now devastated and heartbroken beyond any help. I am struggling to cope with my daily life.
Could I have done more? Was the prescribed medication we gave him correct? Could have been another way to get him to his ending a day later? Will I ever get over the fact of having helped him to die when the only thing he wanted was to live?
I do not have the answers to this. I just feel sad and broken. I live abroad and I miss my family now. Life goes on but I miss a piece.
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My dad died Jan 12th of this year after battling pancreatic cancer. He was diagnosed and 10 months later he was gone and it's the hardest thing Ive ever had to witness and go through. He did chemotherapy and then had
the whipple procedure. Four
months after the surgery he
passed away. I struggle everyday to accept it. Im truly sorry for your loss, hang in there.
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2 Reactions@goblue616, it was a shock to our family too when my fiesty, vibrant, yet quiet aunt was diagnosed and gone all in the space of short 10 months.
It is a daily struggle and remembering the final days are etched in your memory. Of course, your dad is much more that those last 10 months. I hope as you hold your dad in your heart and your memory, the hurt will be cushioned with good memories, his smile and life lessons. What funny or kind thing would you like to share about your dad?