Aunt diagnosis

frankythefish

My aunt has just been diagnosed with terminal illness. Aggressive tumour growth initially in leg, now 'spots' on various stomach organs eg lung. They say they cannot do anything to treat her- nothing. I cannot recall exactly what he labelled her illness. Obviously cancer of some sort, but he throw out name I had never heard of before. I would have needed pen on day to jot down, and was in shock. I don t understand any of this. Can anyone offer insight, perhaps from similar situation, or otherwise? Like he said it would not respond to treatment

LegacyUser

My father has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Weeks to live - but in total denial.

In answer to your question, your aunt would have been allocated a cancer nurse, you can ring her any time (work hours).
Palliative will kick in very quickly. District nurse, social worker, homecare package. They, with your aunts permission, will explain everything.

Ghekko

With your aunts permission given, you could speak to her gp or palliative care team. Palliative care will call to her at home so it would be good for you or another family member to be there for some of the visits to get the information you need and keep in the loop. Also it's a good idea for another person to have a list of her medication and dosage to ensure she is taking it as prescribed. The reason I say this is I had a family member who initially didn't take enough as they thought they could manage without, and who near the end was overdosing as they were in a lot of pain. Will you be helping to care for your aunt?

looksee

If you were present with your aunt when she was given the original diagnosis you may already be in a position of trust and could contact the doctor to ask for clarification - it is quite reasonable that you might not have grasped all the details at the time.