Caring for My Terminally Ill Mother

Caring for Your Aging Parents

Season 01 Episode 03

Caring for My Terminally Ill Mother

Welcome to Caring For Your Aging Parents, where I assist the elderly and their caretakers by providing education on how to take care of your aging parents. There will be new episodes every week where you’ll receive valuable information on how to make confident, informed decisions on elderly care.

How I Cared for My Terminally Ill Mother

Both my parents had cancer in the same timespan - and they both passed away within a year of each other. I understand how hard it is to take care of your parents, especially when you’re managing doctors, their place of residence, medical bills, and finding the right type of care when they have to leave the hospital. It’s hard to juggle family life when you have your parents to take care of, and this episode will give you a bit of an insight into the challenges I faced taking care of my terminally ill parents over a decade ago.

My mom was especially hard to take care of because she didn’t have an invested interest in taking care of herself. She had a poor diet and lifestyle, which led to her having and not surviving stage 1 breast cancer, even with an early diagnosis. If she had a healthier lifestyle, she would have been able to survive her cancer. 

In addition to her poor lifestyle habits, she also implicitly trusted her doctor, even when she showed signs of her cancer returning and her oncologist ignored them. She refused to get a second opinion, and that mistake cost her her life. 

When you have parents that are stubborn or won’t listen to reason, and they are cognizant and able to make decisions, you have to let go emotionally to protect yourself. This is a healthy boundary to have and is essential to know which battles to choose with your parents when you care for them as they age.

Podcast Resources 

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