“Now, in my Dad’s case, the doctor’s do have to worry about respiratory failure, because of the large tumor in his lung and his emphysema.”
Why? When you say advanced lung cancer, I assume we’re talking terminal? If the pain medication necessary to keep a terminal patient comfortable also happens to hasten their death, is that such a bad thing?
I am speaking from experience here. My Father died aged 54 from terminal kidney cancer that had metastasized. I don’t think the cancer is what directly killed him, however. His appetite had been minimal for some time and he was on fairly large doses of Dilaudid for pain. In pill form at first, but at the end he was on a pain medication pump with a liquid form. In the end he died from the combined effects of calorie starvation, and depressed respiration from the pain drugs. Keeping him alive, but in pain, for longer wouldn’t have been any benefit to him or anyone else.
Yes, we are talking terminal. I suppose the doctors don’t want to hasten his death.
My dad had a kidney removed a couple of years ago when he had kidney cancer.
I am sorry about your father’s disease and death; he was so young. My father is in his mid-70s.
I agree with your perspective on pain medications for terminally ill people. However, since I have never spoken to my father’s doctor, I have not been able to discuss it with him. My father just wants to be out of severe pain (which was accomplished), his wife doesn’t want to hear the words “terminal” or “hospice”, and his adult daughter (my 1/2 sister) is freaking out about the entire situation.
I live quite far away and am not there to be of more help with the situation, and I’m not sure I would be allowed to intervene anyway. The entire situation is a big mess and I don’t understand the dynamics of my father’s second family.
But I agree with you wholeheartedly.