When to Call Hospice

I read a really informative posting on Carol D. O'Dell's wonderful blog, Mothering Mother and More, entitled "Is It Time to Call Hospice? Three Signs Caregivers Need to Know." It brought back memories of when my husband was ill with esophagus cancer and in tremendous pain. I didn't know which way to turn, and the narcotic pain medicine his two doctors prescribed didn't seem to help much.

My husband was in tremendous pain, 24/7 with esophagus cancer. Although he didn't say much, I know it was living hell for him with the pain. I was trying to manage it for him (heavy narcotic pain patches, high-end narcotic drugs, etc.), and I had never had any training and didn't know which way to turn. Neither doctor suggested hospice to us. Many times I would call the doctor's after-hour on call services, and receive nothing in return. Usually it was another doctor on call and he didn't want to be responsible for uping any medication. It was incredibly frustrating and ineffective to have to wait another 6 or 7 hours when someone you love is in debilitating pain.

I was under incredible stress because I was afraid of giving my husband too much medicine, and also trying to keep our three boys (11, 17, 18) on an even keel. When my husband was 3 months into his cancer diagnosis, my sister in law, who is a nurse and lives away, came to see us. She immediately told me I should contact hospice for pain control. She assured me it was their forte. I knew something had to be done. I had always associated hospice with end of life services, and didn't know they would help with the pain management end of things.

Once I contacted hospice they acted immediately. It was still a roller coaster with the pain, (many days of extreme ups and extreme downs) but there were also many days it was adequately managed and his pain seemed bearable. Hospice worked continually on his pain management, and my husband was on hospice 7 months before he passed away. They did everything possible to make this situation less stressful for not only my husband and myself, but my children also.

Here is a link to Carol's posting. http://caroldodell.wordpress.com/

Breast Cancer and What Every Woman Should Know - Maureen's Mission

I found an incredible page today, http://www.maureensmission.org and there is a video from Maureen Thiel, who died from breast cancer, about her misdiagnosis for many years of breast cancer.

It is a heartrending story, and a story that is still happening to many women today, who die from breast cancer due to lack of proper testing and doctors not paying attention to sometimes very obvious symptoms.

This is a video every woman should see, especially anyone who has ever been told the breast lump is only a cyst, or nothing to worry about. There is a serious gap in health coverage today, and Maureen's surviving spouse, William Thiel, is trying to bring this "lack" in our system to everyone's attention. There is a wealth of information on this site. Please visit this site for your own information and for every woman you know.