My 80 year old mum has Ovarian Cancer and Alzeimers. She has been battling both for 3 years but the cancer has returned to her lymph nodes in her neck and she is embarking on further chemo as without her consultant advised she would have about 18 months. It is hard as my sister has power of attorney and makes all her decisions and we are both worried having chemo will just mean living longer in a scary world with all the symptoms of alzeimers around her but during a more lucid moment my mum aggreed to chemo so we are going with that and supporting her.
She is due to start it in a months time but in the last month she has rapidly deteriorated, she has lost weight, has no appetite and only nibbles an occassional biscuit. The Oncologist advised my mum should go in a specialised care home for respite during her chemo as she will need 24/7 supervision (she forgets her meds and even that she has cancer at times)
My thoughts are confused, are we doing the right thing going forward with this chemo, if it means she has to leave her home and cat for the final days/weeks/months of her life. If she has only got a little time left anyway isnt the quality of it more important, I feel confused and guilty and also could the appetite and weight loss be connected to the Alzeimers rather than the cancer...any advice appreciated (my first post)
