Is my mum going to die?

[sgall66]

My mum was diagnosed with inoperable advanced lung cancer6 months ago,she had palliative radiotherapy for 5 days 2 months ago. She has been on morphine for 5 months and is bedridden but now she is very confused sleeping most of the time and eats very little,she has lost abt 4 stone in weight and is abt 5 stone now.Do you think she is going to die son?

[Miri775]

hello, for the confusion, my husband had that, and he had to be put on oxygen....he is at the end stage also but still has a way to go. My prayers are with you   I agree make her comfortable and pain free as best as you can.

[HeinrikMD]

Hi,

It would be best to discuss the case with her physician. Estimates need to be individualized and even the best parameters used would be inaccurate. Some of the things that seem to predict an increase in mortality within 30 to 90 days include breathlessness (this needs to be qualified, since the problem is in the lung, there are probably some symptoms in the lung already, so this particular symptom may be more predictive in cancers not affecting the lung) and changes in mentation/cognitive activities. That she is confused most of the time may be a marker due to cognitive changes, but this may also be explained by low blood sugar as she doesn’t eat much. That she is bedridden is another thing to consider, this also makes the chances of making it past 90 days less likely. Rather than quantity, perhaps you could discuss about quality of life with her doctor. There may be some other medications that may improve her daily living.