Hello everyone.
I've only been posting on here since November 2016, when my dad was first diagnosed with Stage IV prostate cancer.
He passed away in hospital this Saturday, 8th April, from a chest infection caused by a secondary lung tumour. His final hours were genuinely peaceful, painless and dignified; and he was surrounded by family. He had spent the previous couple of months immobile because of MSCC, and so in many ways his death was a release, from pain and frustration.
Dad's case was unusually aggressive, and his oncologist noted that he hadn't seen anything as quick or severe in over a decade of practice. He was a Gleason 9, with a complex series of metastases, and in many respects his case was a medical outlier.
We are incredibly grateful to all of the doctors, nurses and hospital staff in various London hospitals, who were above and beyond professional in their humane and compassionate care.
I was sitting with dad at the end, heard his final words and saw him take his last breath. In those 24 hours I realised that death is nothing to fear; and I believe dad realised that as well.
Thank you to everyone on this forum who has posted with support and information over the last few months.