hi. My dad was diagnozed with alzheimers over 2 years ago. in november my mum died and dad unwillingly went into a home. A few weeks later he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I am hoping to bring him to stay with me when he is discharged from hospital but am worried. I can cope, ( I think) with the daytime but am worried about him at night. I've been told that we might get an occassional night sitter . Has any one got any advice Also any views on how to help teenagers cope with the situation.zan
alzheimers and cancer
- Thread starter zan
- Start date
Hello zan, warm welcome to TP. Your poor dad, being dealt such a blow, so glad you feel up to helping him for a while. With regard teenagers, personally I believe that if you tell it to them straight they react immediately, and then either want to help, or they just accept what is going on.
I am sure your children will be as compassionate as you are, given space and time.
Don't have any knowledge of night sitters, but feel sure you will get help soon.
Connie
I am sure your children will be as compassionate as you are, given space and time.
Don't have any knowledge of night sitters, but feel sure you will get help soon.
Connie
thanks
Thanks Connie. I never expected a reply so soon. Now i know I'm not alone. Hope to speak to you again soon. Zan
Thanks Connie. I never expected a reply so soon. Now i know I'm not alone. Hope to speak to you again soon. Zan
Hi Zan
So sorry to hear about your Dad, it never rains etc.
Try Crossroads, they do night sitting provided they have the staff. I don't know about the cost.
Teenagers invariably react well when faced with your sort of situation provided they are given all the facts at the begiining.
Keep your chin up.
Cheers Barraf
So sorry to hear about your Dad, it never rains etc.
Try Crossroads, they do night sitting provided they have the staff. I don't know about the cost.
Teenagers invariably react well when faced with your sort of situation provided they are given all the facts at the begiining.
Keep your chin up.
Cheers Barraf
Hello Zan
I am sorry to hear about your poor Dad, what a horrible situation you are all facing.
I can't help with knowledge of night sitters, but as your Dad has cancer, maybe a local hospice could advise you on local services.
I have always been totally honest with my children about Mum and other family members who have been ill. In my experience, they cope better that way than being given half truths and imagining the rest.
Best wishes to you all
Kathleen
I am sorry to hear about your poor Dad, what a horrible situation you are all facing.
I can't help with knowledge of night sitters, but as your Dad has cancer, maybe a local hospice could advise you on local services.
I have always been totally honest with my children about Mum and other family members who have been ill. In my experience, they cope better that way than being given half truths and imagining the rest.
Best wishes to you all
Kathleen
thanks
Thankyou Barraf, Kathleen and Allylee for your advice and support. I'll try the services mentioned for night care. At the moment my Dad is not able to swallow so is being fed through tubes. He keeps pulling them out which is a massive problem. Best wishes to you all. From Zan.
Thankyou Barraf, Kathleen and Allylee for your advice and support. I'll try the services mentioned for night care. At the moment my Dad is not able to swallow so is being fed through tubes. He keeps pulling them out which is a massive problem. Best wishes to you all. From Zan.
Hi zan,
My father-in-law has AD and myeloma (a form of bone cancer), so I have some understanding of what you are going through. At the moment, my father-in-law's health is fragile, but he is being cared for at home by my mother-in-law, with outside carers coming in two times a week to give her assistance.
As others have said, contacting the local hospice would be a great place to start. Caring for someone with AD and a terminal illness is a huge task, so it is good to get as much outside help as possible and to keep all your options open.
EMI care homes with nursing can do very good work in these difficult circumstances. Having others to carry the physical burden of 24 hour nursing can give you and your family the physical and emotional energy to really attend to your father's special needs in a way that only his loved ones can.
A member of TP named lyn was facing this situation several months ago (her mother has since died) and it might be helpful to read the posts that were made at the time:
http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/talkingpoint/discuss/showthread.php?t=2111
http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/talkingpoint/discuss/showthread.php?t=2228
http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/talkingpoint/discuss/showthread.php?t=2349
Take care,
Sandy
My father-in-law has AD and myeloma (a form of bone cancer), so I have some understanding of what you are going through. At the moment, my father-in-law's health is fragile, but he is being cared for at home by my mother-in-law, with outside carers coming in two times a week to give her assistance.
As others have said, contacting the local hospice would be a great place to start. Caring for someone with AD and a terminal illness is a huge task, so it is good to get as much outside help as possible and to keep all your options open.
EMI care homes with nursing can do very good work in these difficult circumstances. Having others to carry the physical burden of 24 hour nursing can give you and your family the physical and emotional energy to really attend to your father's special needs in a way that only his loved ones can.
A member of TP named lyn was facing this situation several months ago (her mother has since died) and it might be helpful to read the posts that were made at the time:
http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/talkingpoint/discuss/showthread.php?t=2111
http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/talkingpoint/discuss/showthread.php?t=2228
http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/talkingpoint/discuss/showthread.php?t=2349
Take care,
Sandy
Thanks Sandy, I've looked at one of Lyn's threads and found similarities to my situation now. I'll read through some more soon to see if there is any advice there too. Zan
Hi Zan,
Have you contacted Social Services? In our area they are not very forthcoming with help but if you keep on at them you get there! Also there might be 'Hospital at Home' in your area.
Check out the District nursing service also these tend to be 24hr in most areas and will help with tube feeding.
I don't know much about AD but i used to work in the NHS and i know that the only people that seem to get alot of help are those that shout the most (in the nicest possible way of course!)
Sally
Have you contacted Social Services? In our area they are not very forthcoming with help but if you keep on at them you get there! Also there might be 'Hospital at Home' in your area.
Check out the District nursing service also these tend to be 24hr in most areas and will help with tube feeding.
I don't know much about AD but i used to work in the NHS and i know that the only people that seem to get alot of help are those that shout the most (in the nicest possible way of course!)
Sally
I don't know if this a saying peculiar to Suffolk, but I have heard "It's the squeaky wheel which gets greased first" Squeak up everyone!!SallyB said:
What a perfect way of putting it Lynne.
Just to illustrate one example, (in short!) My Dad lives alone (by his and the rest of my familys choice) Social Services told me that the maximum visits he could have a day from carers was two. During one of those endless rounds of telephone calls that you seem to encounter when looking for advice, i happened upon a very nice lady who had previously worked for social services. Her advice to me which was totally unrelated to my initial query! was that in our area people can have upto a max of four visits a day! But that i would never find that written down anywhere!
Thus i continue to be the squeaky wheel !!!
Sally
Just to illustrate one example, (in short!) My Dad lives alone (by his and the rest of my familys choice) Social Services told me that the maximum visits he could have a day from carers was two. During one of those endless rounds of telephone calls that you seem to encounter when looking for advice, i happened upon a very nice lady who had previously worked for social services. Her advice to me which was totally unrelated to my initial query! was that in our area people can have upto a max of four visits a day! But that i would never find that written down anywhere!
Thus i continue to be the squeaky wheel !!!
Sally
Dad is hopefully coming home on Thursday.
We think we have managed to get a night sitter from the local NANS service for Thursday night which will help us to assess how much help he does need in the night. There is free help out there for people with cancer but none of the help is available for people who only have alzheimers. It seems an unfair system. Thanks for everyones' advice and best wishes, Zan
We think we have managed to get a night sitter from the local NANS service for Thursday night which will help us to assess how much help he does need in the night. There is free help out there for people with cancer but none of the help is available for people who only have alzheimers. It seems an unfair system. Thanks for everyones' advice and best wishes, Zan
Hi Zan, hope all is well, now don't forget to keep squeaking as Lynne says will you!! Love She. XX 
