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From the beginning...
My sister Heather was diagnosed w/ breast cancer about 3yrs ago. She went through a mastectomy, chemo, & radiation, and we thought she had it beat. In March or April of 2007, she learned that cancer cells had been floating around in her blood stream and made homes in her brain, lungs, and liver. It was a hard year of varying chemo and radiation treatments. The side effects this time were worse. Last week, between the tumors and the strain of scrubbing her blood of the chemo chemicals, her liver just gave out. She was given 2 to 4 weeks to live; she managed five days. She passed in her sleep and a part of me is grateful; with the liver unable to keep up with the demands on it, the toxins in her blood were harsh on her brain. Over only a day or two, she had lost the ability to speak more than two or three words. She recognized her family and friends and was obviously pleased to see them but her ability to focus and communicate was rapidly deteriorating. Her husband & I were concerned over her quality of life and our ability to care for her at home as her mental state declined.
She had a good day Thursday. She had many visitors and was pleased to see them. She got to sleep in her own bed, on her favorite side of the bed, with her family and pets around her. I'm sad to lose her and had hoped there was another answer, but it was a gentle exit.
My sister Heather was diagnosed w/ breast cancer about 3yrs ago. She went through a mastectomy, chemo, & radiation, and we thought she had it beat. In March or April of 2007, she learned that cancer cells had been floating around in her blood stream and made homes in her brain, lungs, and liver. It was a hard year of varying chemo and radiation treatments. The side effects this time were worse. Last week, between the tumors and the strain of scrubbing her blood of the chemo chemicals, her liver just gave out. She was given 2 to 4 weeks to live; she managed five days. She passed in her sleep and a part of me is grateful; with the liver unable to keep up with the demands on it, the toxins in her blood were harsh on her brain. Over only a day or two, she had lost the ability to speak more than two or three words. She recognized her family and friends and was obviously pleased to see them but her ability to focus and communicate was rapidly deteriorating. Her husband & I were concerned over her quality of life and our ability to care for her at home as her mental state declined.
She had a good day Thursday. She had many visitors and was pleased to see them. She got to sleep in her own bed, on her favorite side of the bed, with her family and pets around her. I'm sad to lose her and had hoped there was another answer, but it was a gentle exit.