February 07, 2009

Hi, Jerry--

I hate for one of my rare communications to consist of sad news, but I think some Saug/church friends will want to know about Jane Altman (now Anderson), who is currently in hospice. I think she and most of her Saug/church friends have lost touch, so I'll give a little background/detail for those who might wish to know: She and her husband, Frank, moved to Washington state (8? 10? more?) years ago (job transfer for Frank). She was diagnosed with bone cancer (2? 3? more?) years ago (Time goes much faster than I realize these days, so between that and my very poor memory, the timeline may be way off.) The bone cancer metastasized from breast cancer, for which she'd had a mastectomy while still living in Cols. I can't remember how long after the breast cancer the bone cancer appeared, but it was a number of years, I believe.

Following the bone cancer, it was discovered that it had also moved to the liver. She has had (1? 2?) years of heavy-duty chemo, which seemed to slow things down for a while, but more and more chemo/meds caused severe side-effects. Although bone cancer is very painful, she and Frank traveled a bit, and she had a chance to do some of the things on her "short list" (her name for the things she wanted to do before dying). Over the past year or so, though, the amount of sitting required to travel became too painful for her, so they did so less and less. They had decided to take a cruise at the end of (Jan. or Feb.), but had to cancel those plans. In the meantime, she continued to be pretty active--yoga, poetry group, church, (swimming, if I recall correctly), and whatever else she could do between lengthy periods of sleep (12 hrs. when I last spoke with her). I can't remember how long ago it was, but she has been retired for (2? 3?) years and was able to enjoy it toward the beginning.

They had been making the 200+ mile drive from their home in Richland to her specialists in Seattle fairly frequently--and that, too, became almost unbearable. In January, they went to Seattle again; unfortunately, the cancer has progressed to the point that her doctor said if she continued the chemo, it would extend her life by about a month. Between the horrible side-effects of the meds, pain, painful trips to Seattle, and poor quality of life, she recently decided to stop the chemo. I don't know the time span between going off chemo and what seems like a very sudden downturn, but apparently it was short. Home hospice was scheduled to come in, but before they could do so, Jane fell out of her wheelchair and had a choking incident. It was decided home care was not appropriate, so went to a 24-hour hospice facility instead (and is there now). Jane and Frank had discussed this long ago, and Jane's wish was for palliative/hospice care. I'm not sure how long she's been there, but my impression is just a few days to a week. I'm getting my info 2nd hand from a mutual friend but will be calling Frank soon.

She is on morphine--the maximum allowable dose--and is still having pain, though I don't know how severe. Because of the morphine, she is lucid for only brief periods. Our mutual friend and I have both considered flying out there, but it sounds as if Jane wouldn't even know we were there. Our friend talked to her while Frank held the phone a day or so ago; Jane tried to speak but was unable to . Frank couldn't tell whether she knew who was on the phone, but he did say that her face seemed to light up a bit. As you have probably gathered by now, it sounds as if Jane's death will be very soon. Her birthday is March 8th, but it doesn't sound like she'll make it that long. I can't remember her exact age, but I think she is about 67.

Please send Jane your thoughts and energy, and if you're a praying person, your prayers. Thanks.

Suzanne