I think the bigger question you need to ask is that if he does have colon cancer are you going to treat it when your husband has mid-state alzheimer's? If you are not going to treat the cancer (if he has it) then there is no reason to put him through a colonoscopy.
The twilight sleep anesthesia for a colonoscopy is not the point. The treatment for colon cancer, should he have it, is. My ex had stage 4 colon cancer in his 50s w/o Alzheimer's to deal with. The surgery, with full anesthesia, and the ensuing one year + of chemo treatments was so hard on him, I can't even tell you. He lost SO much weight, he was chronically sick and had to be cared for by my son and his wife in their home for a year, developed bad neuropathy in his feet (which he still has to this day 6 years later), fever and chills, and 100 other side effects too numerous to mention. If your LO with mid stage AD has cancer, do you plan to put him thru THAT?? Or immunotherapy which is even worse than chemo, to extend a life that's riddled with misery??
When my mother had dementia, I prayed daily for God to take her out of her misery. I did absolutely nothing to extend her life, considering it to be an act of cruelty.
Please think long and hard about subjecting a confused elder to the horrible PREP for a colonoscopy, number 1, which you will be cleaning up the results of, and then making the decisions for the outcome of the test! In my book, it's a hard no.
It would be for me as well. A colonoscopy would be a hard NO for me under any circumstances. I'm w-a-a-y too old to withstand the treatments if colon cancer were to be detected, so why undergo the test? I'm 87 and do not have dementia (that I know of).
I would not put a person suffering from any type of Dementia thru a colonoscopy. There is no way they would understand what to do the day before. Its not just eating no food, I had to take 24 horse pills and drink loads of water. I threw up the water. Was not leaving my stomach as fast as it was going in. I had to be near a toilet because there was no "holding" it in. I had mine done in 2021 at age 72. I am down for another one at 80. They are not recommended after 75 because of perforation.
By the way, my test came up positive. It was false. I was told there may have been some blood from a fissure. Really, the test is suppose to test for cancer cells. Since colon cancer does not run in my family, I will not have a colonoscopy done again.
Colon cancer is one of the slowest growing cancers. If the person is your husband (74) and he is already in the mid stage of his ALZ, I would never attempt to give him a colonoscopy and any subsequent treatment. It's hard enough mentally and emotionally when you have all your mind. IMO it would be most merciful to leave it alone (and merciful for you, his caregiver).
May you receive wisdom and peace in your heart as you ponder this decision.
MILWD has a spot on a kidney and a latent aneurysm in the brain. When they moved in with us 3.5 years ago, BEFORE she was diagnosed with mild cognitive decline but AFTER she had signed a DNR, we found new docs close to where they are now living. When we asked about even monitoring the kidney and aneurysm, their primary RIGHTLY asked if she would do chemo or surgery and then dialysis or organ donor surgery if something was progressing on the kidney. She said no, so why go look? Mom was 78yo then and able to know that she didn't want interventions. We're all trained to be PROACTIVE with our health, but as we age, we need to be proactive with palliative care and think clearly on whether a test should be done. Now, Mom is around stage 3-4 and Dad is stage 6ish. I'm SO glad that doctor was viewing the situation as a whole and pointed out to all of us that pivoting in HOW we care is sometimes needed.
My 81 yo mom has mid-stage dementia as well. I am not doing any extra testing. She is pretty miserable with her life so I do not plan on doing anything to artificially extend her life. I believe, at this point of her life, in letting nature take it's course, while ensuring that she does not needlessly suffer any pain.
So sorry that hubby has dementia at this level at 74. I worry about that with my hubby and hope he doesn't take that path. With both our moms with dementia, I am kind of done with it already!
thank you for mentioning / the phrase "artificially extend her life" - I believe so many people do this for themselves vs the person that is needing to transition - as you say "let nature its course.
I often do not see the threats people talk about here ... where it is mentioned a husband is 74?
Yes, I too hope that you and your husband do not suffer with dementia. I am sure it is on the minds of so many of us, not only those on this site.
I opted out of a colonoscopy for my mom with mid/late dementia after a positive occult stool sample. It was probably caused by Xarelto (per ER physician) so the dosage was lowered.
She had a fall about a month later and CT showed a number of things where I just threw up my hands and thought a colonoscopy would've been pointless anyway.
I was able to talk to her about the colonoscopy suggestion by her primary and she did not want to go to the hospital again. She also absolutely did not like the explanation of the bowel prep needed for the procedure.
At this point you have to determine what you would do if they found something that required further invasive procedures to fix. Would you do it given where your LO is with their Alzheimer’s?
Karty, I'm sure this is so hard taking care of your husband. My husband is 72, if God forbid this is my life in 2 years, I wouldnt do any cancer screenings on him. I know it's not what he would want.
And what if your husband had cancer, what then? Chemo on an Alzheimer's patient, would be horrible and would progress his Alzheimer's a lot.
Personally I would not put him ... and you.. through the prep and the test. And I have to be honest and ask this... What would be your course of action if the test result showed that there was cancer. Would you put him through surgery? Lots of reasons not to. How would you and he deal with a colostomy if it came to that? How would he tolerate Chemo and or radiation if it came to that? How would any surgery and treatment IMPROVE his life. It may extend his life but will it improve the quality of his life? Given the abnormal results and the possibility of cancer I would opt to have a Hospice evaluation done to see if he would qualify for the great services that Hospice can provide.
When my mother had dementia, I prayed daily for God to take her out of her misery. I did absolutely nothing to extend her life, considering it to be an act of cruelty.
Please think long and hard about subjecting a confused elder to the horrible PREP for a colonoscopy, number 1, which you will be cleaning up the results of, and then making the decisions for the outcome of the test! In my book, it's a hard no.
By the way, my test came up positive. It was false. I was told there may have been some blood from a fissure. Really, the test is suppose to test for cancer cells. Since colon cancer does not run in my family, I will not have a colonoscopy done again.
May you receive wisdom and peace in your heart as you ponder this decision.
So sorry that hubby has dementia at this level at 74. I worry about that with my hubby and hope he doesn't take that path. With both our moms with dementia, I am kind of done with it already!
Best of luck.
I often do not see the threats people talk about here ... where it is mentioned a husband is 74?
Yes, I too hope that you and your husband do not suffer with dementia.
I am sure it is on the minds of so many of us, not only those on this site.
Gena
I opted out of a colonoscopy for my mom with mid/late dementia after a positive occult stool sample. It was probably caused by Xarelto (per ER physician) so the dosage was lowered.
She had a fall about a month later and CT showed a number of things where I just threw up my hands and thought a colonoscopy would've been pointless anyway.
I was able to talk to her about the colonoscopy suggestion by her primary and she did not want to go to the hospital again. She also absolutely did not like the explanation of the bowel prep needed for the procedure.
At this point you have to determine what you would do if they found something that required further invasive procedures to fix. Would you do it given where your LO is with their Alzheimer’s?
And what if your husband had cancer, what then? Chemo on an Alzheimer's patient, would be horrible and would progress his Alzheimer's a lot.
It wouldnt be what I would want either.
Best of luck to you. Keep us posted
And I have to be honest and ask this...
What would be your course of action if the test result showed that there was cancer.
Would you put him through surgery? Lots of reasons not to.
How would you and he deal with a colostomy if it came to that?
How would he tolerate Chemo and or radiation if it came to that?
How would any surgery and treatment IMPROVE his life.
It may extend his life but will it improve the quality of his life?
Given the abnormal results and the possibility of cancer I would opt to have a Hospice evaluation done to see if he would qualify for the great services that Hospice can provide.
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