Cancer Diary: What is dying from cancer like?
A somber topic today indeed, but an important one. One that was so completely new to us when Carl was dying from cancer that not only did we not know what to expect, leaving us feeling lost and helpless, but also we had no idea even what questions to ask and where to search for answers, leaving us feeling depressed and fearful. I think that may not be completely uncommon.
Here is a clinical description of dying from cancer:
Dying from cancer is a process that involves changes in body function and loss of control over bodily functions. Some of the common signs that your body is preparing to die are disorientation, incontinence, rattling breaths, extreme weakness, less interest in food, trouble swallowing, and muscle jerking. These signs are caused by the cancer spreading to different organs and systems, and the body shutting down.
Frankly, these signs are pretty scary and disconcerting when you do not expect them and do not know how to interpret them -- let alone how to respond to them in useful ways.
Here is more helpful information, from the American Cancer Society: Caregiving at the end of life.
Or if you prefer a video (simple, matter-of-fact, informative): How does a person die from cancer?
For other Cancer Diary posts, click HERE.
Blog editor's note: As a memorial to Carl Leaver, MSI Press graphic arts director and designer, who died of Cancer of Unknown Primary August 16, 2021, and simply because it is truly needed, MSI Press is now hosting a web page, Carl's Cancer Compendium, as a one-stop starting point for all things cancer, to make it easier for those with cancer to find answers to questions that can otherwise take hours to track down on the Internet and/or from professionals. The web page is in its infancy but expected to expand into robustness. To that end, it is expanded and updated weekly. As part of this effort, each week, on Monday, this blog carries an informative, cancer-related story -- and is open to guest posts: Cancer Diary.
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