My MIL has dementia (lewy body/mixed). She lives in an AL. She has reached the point that when anything goes off routine she loses it for about a week. They forgot to help her shower last Saturday, she went completely hysterical until Thursday. Calling random people to try to “break out”, leaving my husband and I hysterical messages, etc.. Yesterday, she called me but didn’t know she called (she does this a lot) but then started talking like a little girl on the phone. It was very disturbing. She also has a history of breast cancer. She went through chemotherapy about 3 years ago and it was almost too much for her physically. She is back to annual screening. It’s time for her mammogram and I just don’t can’t imagine putting her through it. I can’t imagine what a false positive or a real positive would do to her mentally. I really can’t imagine her going through chemo again. Two weeks ago I took her to meet with a Neurologist, she thought she was at a Therapist the entire time. She has an EEG and CT coming up with them. I am fine with the CT scan, but I am also wondering about the EEG. I notice when her disease progresses it a big step down, then she is steady for awhile. We have definitely taken a step down recently. Thoughts on when to stop routine screening and how much to put a dementia patient through?
A week after my husband received a reminder to come in for a colonoscopy from his gastroenterologist we went in for his routine appointment with his neurologist.
While there I asked him what he thought about it. As we all know that would mean putting my husband through taking an enema, drinking that horrid potion, and dealing with the resulting mess and discomfort for several hours.
In reply the neurologist looked at me with that for-pity's-sake look and said don't put him through that. He wouldn't understand.
I wouldn't want a mammogram. It's still too primitive and painful a device even for a clear thinking lady to endure.