End of Life Care

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My brother is terminally ill, cancer is slowing consuming him. It's breaking his bones, and making him weak with every step. Diagnosed in July, it's been a horrible four months watching the life slowly slip away from his eyes. It is so emotionally draining on my family, especially my 71 year old mother. My brother is at home, with my sister, and my mom. He is fiercely independent and does not want anyone "tending" on him, but now he needs help. I can only imagine the things that he has going through his mind. We've had that "death" talk a few times, in one breath he will talk about his pending death, his funeral arrangements, and in another will talk about the things he has planned to do in the future, like buy a boat, attend his sons high school graduation. We never discourage any hope that may be displayed even tho his time with us is very short now. We have stopped taking pictures, but we record him talking, and singing, preserving every memory we can. I haven't had to deal with a close family member dying in a few years, since 2001, my dad. I remember being numb, and a thousand people asking if I was ok. I miss him every single day. Our family has been riddled with tragedy and illness, sometimes being strong takes just too much effort lately.