Sister's Cancer; Please Answer!

Originally posted by PPL:
Hello nurses. I posted with a smiley face to lift my spirits and the spirits of those who work with the terminally ill. I have been off the site until yesterday, helping with my sister, and it has been a rollercoaster, let me tell you. When I first picked her up, she was asleep, and I thought she was dead! I was shocked to see her, compared with the previous month, before she went to NY. It turned out(after spending several hours, observing her, interacting and assessing,etc.)that she was WAY, WAY overmedicated, talking out of her head, falling asleep with food spilling on her lap, during mid bite,etc. I reduced her meds slowly and within 72hrs, she was becoming much more alert, interested in eating, safe to leave alone, getting about some, and at one point, woke me from a dead sleep in the early am, to take her to Cracker Barrel for a huge breakfast! We were able to talk about Hospice, and though it took some organizing, I got her all set up/signed up, wheel chair, tub chair, meds dilivered to the door and even though she was doing pretty well on just darvocet, she had the strong stuff available per Hospice, which then gave her some peace of mind and control to increase her meds if needed. Then, it was off to the Radiologist for evaluation, and to set up rad Rx to hopefully reduce the tumor and pain and swelling to her leg, with the understanding of absolutely no hope for a cure. This was made quite clear to us. The next day, a CT was done to prepare for Radiation, and to compare with prev Ct done in NY. No sooner got home, when we rec a call from the radiologist that she had a blood clot in her pelvis and it was arranged for her to be adm to the hospital for anticoagulation Rx. Hospice and the Dr and I had quite a discussion, as he believed this to be a very possible cause of her pain and swelling, and considered it quality, NOT heroics. Hospice disagreed! So, off Hospice she went and back in the hospital for three days. Since then, she was having less pain and swelling, plus had started Rad Rx, and has had four treatments so far. Well, our spirits were improved, and I was able to come back home, planning to see her Dec 8th for our yearly sister Christmas. Now I just found out that she is vomiting, has terrible abd pain, most likely a bowel obstruction, and the Dr is unwilling to treat or refer her to a Dr that will. He said if she chooses agressive treatment, "she'll have to shop around for another doctor," as he "can do no more for her at this point, and neither can anyone else, except Hospice." So, that is the situation, Hospice is coming back onboard, and the future at this point looks very bleak. I thank you for listening to this update and hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, as ours was really great during our brief reprieve, and just prior to this latest crisis. I am following the MNM site as much as possible, but wish I could be of some help. I am contacting my state rep to see if there is something helpful I can do from the computer, as wherever I am, home or with my sisters, I have a computer available. Thanks sisters and brothers in nursing.