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Making plans for death
We spoke to people with pancreatic cancer who had a terminal diagnosis about planning for their death. Some people didn't want to think about it...
We talked to people who had lost a loved one to pancreatic cancer, about what happened when they were dying. They told us about where they had died and the care they had from professionals.
You might wonder what to expect as you reach the end of life. The dying process is different for everyone. You may experience a range of different symptoms and increased pain. Palliative care will be available to help keep your symptoms, like pain, under control.
People told us about the palliative care their relative had received. Pain seemed to be quite well controlled whether people died at home, in a hospice or hospital. Judging when someone will die is difficult, even for experienced professionals. Some people had been told their relative would die within the next day or two, but they lived for much longer.
Some people choose to die at home, others in a hospice, although beds are not always available. Many die in hospital; they may be there because a particular problem needs special attention, e.g. a bowel obstruction or a serious infection.
Others may be in hospital because they don’t want to be at home but have no access to a hospice. They may choose hospital because they have great trust in the hospital staff (see ‘Making plans for death’).
Palliative care can be given at home by specialist palliative care teams of doctors and nurses. Charities such as Marie Curie Cancer Care offer nursing services at home.
Some people had excellent nursing and medical care for relatives who had died at home (also see ‘Pain management and other palliative care’). Hugh vividly remembered the care the Marie Curie nurses provided for his mother at home. She had also been visited by a doctor who specialised in pain relief. He said that they were ‘incredible people’. The doctors and nurses gave emotional support as well as excellent medical care.
Several people wished they had got in touch with palliative care nurses earlier. John (Interview 21) and his wife, for example, had assumed things were not bad enough and put off seeking their help. Similarly, Simon regretted not getting the GP and the specialist palliative care nurses involved earlier. But when his wife Karen was dying, he contacted the local palliative care team.
The nurses supported both him and his wife. They called frequently during the day and sometimes at night. Sometimes they stayed in the house for two to three hours. As Karen became more frail she moved from the upstairs bedroom downstairs into the front room. The nurses managed to get a hospital bed with an electronic lifting mechanism to make nursing easier. As death approached Karen was sometimes unconscious, but when she noticed her surroundings she was glad to have members of the family by her bed. Karen died peacefully. After she died Simon and his daughters spent some time with her.
John had cared for his first wife, Ann, until she died. He had the help of a wonderful team of nurses who worked for the Ellenor Hospice at Home charity. These nurses would phone to see if Ann needed anything. They gave pain relief and sometimes stayed the night. John found this comforting, it meant he could sleep through the night without worrying.
Some people’s relatives had died in a hospice. People had spent a few days there before they died. Hospices aim to meet peoples physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. People can also attend a hospice as a day patient for one or two days a week. People told us they were often pleasantly surprised by the cheerful atmosphere and the wonderful support there (also see our Living with dying section).
Saba’s mother went to a hospice once a week for a while. Saba didn’t think her mother had benefited much as a day patient, but said that when her mother was dying, the hospice had been their ‘saving grace’.
The staff had respected the family’s Muslim traditions and had treated her mother as a ‘human being’. Saba felt that the hospice had been the ‘perfect place’ for her mother’s last days. She was also most impressed that the nurses had referred to her mother by name, even after she had died. Saba felt that this showed respect.
David’s wife, Fiona, had also died in a hospice. He visited the place a few weeks before she died. Fiona had liked the hospice; it felt a bit like a hotel. The rooms were nice, the food was good and the staff had time to talk, to care and to give drugs as soon as Fiona needed them. David and his sons could visit at any time and they sometimes stayed the night.
Anthony’s wife, Martine, died peacefully in hospital. He said that she just stopped breathing. The hospital staff had done all they could to care for her both medically and psychologically.
Theadora’s mother died in hospital. Morphine ( a strong painkiller) kept her reasonably comfortable during the four days before she died. She was distressed for a short time, but Theadora said the death was ‘as dignified as you can have in a hospital setting’ with her family around her (see ‘Making plans for death‘).
Susan’s mother also died in hospital. After being ill at home she developed pneumonia and went into hospital. There the doctors gave her intravenous antibiotics and morphine, but her condition got worse and she died two days later.
We spoke to people with pancreatic cancer who had a terminal diagnosis about planning for their death. Some people didn't want to think about it...
We spoke to people whose loved one had died from pancreatic cancer. They talked about the practical things that they had to do after their...