Sleep? What is Sleep? Stage Four Breast Cancer; Consequences of Cancer

             Consequences of Stage-Four Breast Cancer
Wife died a few weeks ago, the final results of stage-four breast cancer.
What I have learned so far:
   Stage-Four Breast Cancer sucks bitter lemons. BIG TIME.
   Survival rate of stage-four cancer is low, to non-existent.

   Other things often tend to cause death before the actual cancer gets there.
         Breathing difficulties; diminished lung capacity:
             Liquids building up around the heart and lungs compress both, and can trigger life-threatening
                        situations.
             Pneumonia, caused by areas of a lung not exchanging air at an adequate rate to manage moisture
                       and the warm atmosphere that becomes a prime breeding ground for bacteria, is a constant
                       threat.
    
        Heart damage from chemotherapy:
               The heart, while a strong muscle, can be affected by so much caustic stuff flowing through the
                blood. Frequent follow-up tests are needed to monitor such. (More on that in another entry.)

  Hospital stays are tiring and stressful, at best; terminal at worst.
                Sleeping side-by-side in two single beds is NOT the most intimate situation.
                 Food is at best institutional, bland-ish, and hash-ish; at worst, non-existent for the "other,"
                 the care-giver who insists on staying all or most of the time.
            
                In many facilities, the communication among lung specialists, heart specialists, oncologists, and                            so forth, seem limited, perhaps strained, and territorial.
                    The personal care-giver, be it family or friend, or hired-hand needs to keep careful notes of
                     who is in charge of what area, and what is being scheduled, and what results these procedures
                     are seeking.
                             Someone walking in, ready to transport the patient for an unexpected procedure,
                             especially when waiting for another appointment for that time, causes a scramble.
                             Done there; been that.  I was NOT slow at insisting a clarification before moving.
                                I pressed call buttons, and scampered to the nurse's station in a hurry.

               The longer the stay, the more likely mistakes are made.
                   Sleepiness and exhaustion can cause carelessness in administering medicine. (again, careful
                            observation by care-giver, and notes of medicines and schedule of administration is
                            suggested)
                   Most hospitals are not designed for long-term stays.
                         Medical personnel seem to get impatient with those who don't seem to recover.
                         Medical facilities tend to rush patients toward the exit.

          Being released, when the patient recovers, moves to a less-intense atmosphere, or dies
                   can bring relief, though that relief may trigger its own load of guilt.

           When all is done, Stage-Four Cancer Still sucks Big, bitter lemons.