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Sorry to hear about your mom. We lived in Chatsworth prior to coming to southern Colorado. I think my bro spend time in Norwalk or something like that.
My mom had lung cancer too back in about 2005. She had a lobe removed too but was able to put the smokes down and even got off the oxygen because she hated it so much. She's 78 now and doing well except for grieving the loss of Chris and she suffers a bit of arthritis and macular degeneration.
Yikes. Don't ever get old... or wait! Do get old, just enjoy the ride.
I worked as a pysch nurse for many years, and yes, all the ps smoked. It was a chain smoking unit. You are right, they were all very calm. I am sorry about the cancer diagnosis, and he probably will not quit. Moderator cut: read whole thread, brother died last month
Last edited by SouthernBelleInUtah; 02-14-2013 at 09:56 PM..
I would like to discuss his will to not quit smoking during this process because it's part of why I started the thread.
When my mom, dad, Chris and I were returning from the hospital (respiratory or oncology ward... can't remember), the discussion got brought up. My mom said that she was absolutely not going to buy Chris his weekly carton of cigarettes any more. She said that he could take the 40 bucks she gave him and buy them himself.
Then he muttered with a hoarse voice from the back seat, "Kill me then! Just shut up."
I told Chris to not worry about it. We'd get him his cigarettes. He even told the doctor that he wouldn't give up smoking if they did chemo and/or radiation. To my surprise, the doc told Chris that that was ok, so long that he knew that the smoking would work against the treatment somewhat.
Well all of this was a mute point because Chris soon wound up bed-ridden from the emergency room and then the hospice room where he would only have the nicotine patch to get him by, which he accepted.
It's almost as if a person of authority outside of the family came up to Chris and said, "You will not smoke period. Do you want to try the patch or not? " ... then Chris may have accepted it. Just a theory of mine.
I'm no paranoid schizophrenic expert, but Chris seemed that willful to me.
My brother was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer recently and he too has schizophrenia. I have been distressed for many years that his care has not addressed smoking cessation. The out patient community placement embraces the idea tha that the mentally ill are consumers of health care and they are able to make choices. My brother is not able to make rational decisions about his lifestyle choices. He was better off before the closing of the mental hospital where he had fewer choices and a better quality of life than living in the community. I am heart broken as my brother has only weeks to live. I blame the mental health community for his death. He has spend months in-
-patient not smoking only to be discharged to community personal care homes where there is no emphasis on smoking cessation or healthy live style choices. Most of the workers and health care aids smoke and find it a great place to work because they can smoke too! I will never get over the loss of my brother at the age of only 59- we had such hope that in the future years new medications and brain research would have given him a chance at a more normal life- now we will lose him too soon.
My oldest brother is a Paranoid Schizophrenic who was just recently diagnosed with a bad tumor on his lung. It is cancerous and it has metastasized and has evidently been there for a while. He is a heavy smoker too.
Evidently, PS's smoke heavily due to enhancement of brain dopamines and its restriction of further degradation of its production. In laymens terms, I hear that it grounds them and settles the voices.
In any case, he would die before he would give up the tobacco. So, he's in pain in his upper back and perhaps elsewhere and the thing is inoperable, especially in his condition.
He's 58 and is in an assisted living type place and my parents and I are left with the job of helping him as best we can going forward. Pain management comes to mind. It's a sad deal but not a shocker by any means.
I'm confused whether this post belongs here in the Cancer subforum or perhaps it belongs in the mental health subforum.
What I'm looking for here is perhaps testimony from those who have seen this in friends/family members, those with experience on what to expect going forward.
My bro has had a rough life since his early adulthood/late childhood. In his mid-teenage years, he started to see trouble and it quickly developed to full-blown drug use/ incarceration for his behaviors which lead quickly to a diagnosis of full-blown schizophrenia in the early 70s which lead to what they call involuntary incarceration... usually at some state-hospital. With Reagan taking office in the 80s, this lead to my bro being upgraded to more independent means of care... which in his case lead to a pretty rough life with his lack of discipline and participation. Perhaps if he would have tried harder and kept up with physical exercise and mental therapy, he could have been one of the lucky ones and become more functional. This was not the case for him.
So, back to the topic at hand. How do we go about caring for him now? Does hospice offer help? Do we seek a pain-management clinic?
Thanks for any responses and experience on the matter.
For the mental issues, you might have him investigate orthomolecular medicine. It uses extremely high targeted does of specific vitamins and minerals to target specific diseases and has shown promise in regards to many mental problems which are believed to be related to chronic deficiencies in many of the B Complex family of vitamins. But simply taking over the counter B Complex may be far to little to help. He would have to get consolutation on possibly dosing specific to the problem.
For the mental issues, you might have him investigate orthomolecular medicine. It uses extremely high targeted does of specific vitamins and minerals to target specific diseases and has shown promise in regards to many mental problems which are believed to be related to chronic deficiencies in many of the B Complex family of vitamins. But simply taking over the counter B Complex may be far to little to help. He would have to get consolutation on possibly dosing specific to the problem.
Dk, I am sorry for your situation and it's so similar to what ours was.
Trettep, thanks for the info because all though Chris passed away in late January, this thread and your info may hopefully help others.
I still would like to know why those e cigarettes or "vaping" wouldn't be a safer alternative.
I'm sorry to hear about your loss. Great thing is that it is only temporarily. You'll see him again soon enough. I hope my post wasn't for naught and that it helps others.
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