My (28F) friend (84M) just found out that he has an "aggressive cancer" in his liver and won't live much longer.
He hasn't discussed treatment options with an oncologist yet, but the doctors who had been assessing him while he'd been in the hospital over the last few weeks have all agreed that this is a dire situation and that the cancer will act quickly.
He finally got to go home from the hospital today and will have nurses and PSWs visiting with him. He'll have to find a rescue to take in his two elderly dogs. His wife died 10 years ago.
Context: We met at a dog park years ago and would go out for coffee or lunch regularly just to shoot the shit. Right before the pandemic, we got silly drunk at a jazz show. This man knows me better than my own dad does, or anybody in my extended family for that matter. He may be 84 but he's got the soul and spryness of a 34 year old.
I care for him dearly and want to be a source of comfort, but I just can't find the right words. Google searches have gotten me no where, so here we are.
I'll be putting a care package together over the next couple of days; suggestions for that would be appreciated as well.
EDIT: I work in Public Health, on my city's Covid-19 immunization team. This means that I'm in hospitals, LTC facilities and retirement homes every day. For extra-obvious reasons, I cannot visit with him.
TL;DR: My dear friend is dying and I need advice. What can I say to comfort him?
Submitted January 20, 2021 at 04:47PM by twocanssam https://ift.tt/3bYDILJ
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