Hi everyone - my 72 yr old mother was diagnosed with oral cancer late last year (no idea what stage etc, think it was BOT but could be wrong). She went through 6 weeks of radiation and then we waited for things to get better............ They didn't.......... She was never able to regain the ability to eat; her mouth was dry and sore and you could tell she was worried.

A PET scan was finally done in February of this year and we were given the bad news that Mom's cancer had spread to the tonsil area and her lungs. Chemo was not recommended by two different Oncologists (is not curable) so now we have Mom at home, hooked up to a morphine pump with palliative care nurses coming in every day.

This has been extremely hard on our family but I do have to express my extreme gratitude for the palliative care system in Canada. They are bending over backwards for my parents and the care (drugs, home support, etc) are 100% covered.

I have been reading this forum for the last few months and decided I needed to tell a bit of my Mom's story and how a caring society and close family is making her final days as peaceful and serene as possible.

I want to thank all of you for the comments you have posted because I have drawn strength from a lot of them. I wish you all well with your personal situations and I will stay in touch.

Karen - loving daughter and part time caregiver of of Mary.