alzheimers and cancer

[malengwa]

Mum has Alzheimers, she has just been diagnosed with lung cancer. What experiences do other have?
Dad doesn't want her to have any treatment, I'm erring on the side of removal of tumour by keyhole. I don't think mum would cope going every day for radiotherapy which is the other option. Mum said she like anything that woukd make her feel better but then she didn't really know why she was at the hospital today.
We've agreed for her to have a PET scan so that we might learn more about the tumour eg how aggressive it is then to decide after that.
Any thoughts? I'm quite torn

 

[Chemmy]

Oh, this is such a difficult one. My mum had a mastectomy a couple of years before her Alzheimer's became apparent and with the benefit of hindsight, I have sometimes pondered whether it would have been better if she had let nature take its course and refused the surgery.

On balance, I'd say yes it would have been, as she ended up unable to communicate for several years and eventually became bedbound, with no quality of life. She used to say to Dad and me years ago that she never wanted to end up like that and I wonder if that's the way your dad is seeing things.

 

[cragmaid]

Hello. My late Mum had cancer of the eye, which did eventually metastasize to melanomas over her body. She had radiotherapy as an inpatient. This was pre Dementia Diagnosis. She would not have coped during later stages.

Very few Tumours are simply removed needing no follow up treatment. Your Mum's medics will know what treatment route is likely and what the prosepcts are likely for a recovery. Sadly, during this recovery, Mum's dementia could and probably will, become worse. Any surgery, and especially if a General Anaesthetic is requires, can provoke a bad response and is Mum likely to be able to manage a recovery plan?
Sadly these questions are going to have to be faced and, unless Mum is in severe pain which medication cannot control, I would not be pushing for action if she was my Mum.

So sorry to sound so negative.... I hope things can be managed well.x.

 

[Hill Man]

Hi,

Sorry to hear about your mum. I think its best to be totally honest with the doctors involved. They will always edge towards wanting to treat and be concerned that you will expect them to "do something". Lung cancer has a poor survival rate at best even with aggressive treatment, and gets worse the older and more frail you are. If you make the doctors aware that you know this you will probably get a more frank opinion from them

best wishes

 

[malengwa]

Thankyou for your candid thoughts. Mums oncologist seemed well acquainted with mums Alzheimers hence explaining that there were 3 options, one if which is to do nothing. She asked if we thought mum would cope with lying still for radiotherapy, dad said yes, I said no. It's a tough call isn't it, as mum was always have any treatment going whereas dad is very much leave it alone and if it were dad in this position it would be much easier as I know what he would want. I hope having the PET scan will tell us more about the type of tumour and how aggressive it is and perhaps that will help the decision making.
Mums had cancer twice before so it's not new to her, she's never smoked and they don't think there's any more anywhere else.

 

[Amy in the US]

Malengwa, I'm sorry to hear about your mother. This has got to be very stressful for you all.

I don't have personal experience with this, so can't offer advice, but the topic does come up now and again here on TP. If it's at all helpful, here are some other threads:

https://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/showthread.php?47825-dementia-and-now-cancer&highlight=cancer

https://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/showthread.php?57923-Alzheimers-amp-Cancer&highlight=cancer

https://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/showthread.php?82401-Cancer-and-Dementia&highlight=cancer

https://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/showthread.php?4115-Cancer-AND-dementia&highlight=cancer

https://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/sho...ope-with-dementia-and-cancer&highlight=cancer

And there are more, but you get the idea.

I wonder if talking to a MacMillan nurse would be helpful? I have seen mention of that here on TP and generally they seem highly thought of. https://www.macmillan.org.uk

Sending best wishes. Cancer is difficult enough, without the complication of dementia.