Sleeping

MY2024 6 months ago

1 reply

Hi, my dad has lung cancer. He’s in his 80’s and has had all the palliative radiotherapy possible. He’s gradually sleeping longer and longer in the night. He’s alert enough in the day but he’s recently started sleeping 15 hours a night as well as napping during the day. Is this a sign that things are progressing?

Jan1 6 months ago

Edited by Jan1 6 months ago

Hi MY2024, my name is Jan and I am a Marie Curie Nurse.

I am sorry to hear that you are going through a difficult time at the moment and your dad is appearing to be less well.

Have you spoken to your dads GP about the changes you have noticed? They will be able to check if there are any reversible causes such as an infection.

It may be that there are no reversible causes MY2024, and that your dad is moving into the end stage of his life. To be sure you may find it to be helpful to request a clinical review by a healthcare professional, such as the GP.

You may also find the following link helpful as the situation changes for your dad: https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/help/support/being-there/end-of-life-preparation/signs-of-dying .

If you would like to speak to us in more detail, then please call 0800 090 2309 for free, where you can ask to speak to a nurse such as myself. You're also more than welcome to speak to us as often as you like here on our Online Community.

Take care for now,

Jan - Marie Curie Nurse