My mom has colon cancer that has metastasized to her liver.She was diagnosed back in June and has a had a very good quality of life since. All she has was surgery to remove the main tumor that had almost completely blocked her bowel. She decided against any chemo or radiation which, in my opinion, allowed her to actually live longer and better.
Now she is staring to decline. she spent a short period in in-patient Hospice last week and over the weekend to adjust meds for pain control She is now back to being pain free but she has shown personality changes. She sleeps more, has some cognitive impairment and is very tired and sometimes short of breath.
Cancer is a complicated disease and each person has many different symptoms at different times. It can be a roller coaster ride.
When there is metastatic disease to the live there is likely also metastases elsewhere like the lungs, brain and bones. Both liver failure and brain mets can cause personality changes, cognitive problems and even very aggressive behavior sometimes.
as cancer progresses, the patient sleeps more, eats less and drinks less until they don't eat or drink anymore. They will typically slip into a coma at some point around this time prior to death.
We also went through this with my father-in-law who passed from pancreatic cancer that had also metastasized to the liver.
One thing you should be able to expect is good pain control. Most patients can be treated quite well for pain. Hospice is especially good for this.
Be kind to yourself. Take care of yourself along with everyone else.
Jen