Giving Grief Grace, a Grief Podcast for the Sandwich Generation

Episode 64 - Moments Matter: What I'd Do Again Caregiving for Mom and Her Terminal Diagnosis

Lisa Hartung Season 2 Episode 64

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 28:02

When someone you love receives a terminal diagnosis, time suddenly feels different — heavier, more precious, and impossible to plan around. In this solo episode, Lisa shares what caregiving through her mom's stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis taught her about making the most of uncertain time. She walks listeners through practical logistics like assembling a care team and navigating the shift into hospice, to the small daily choices that turned hard days into meaningful ones: a favorite ice cream, a beloved TV show, a spontaneous stop at a small-town shop. This is the caregiving guidance Lisa wishes she'd had going in, and the moments, both big and small, she'd choose again in a heartbeat.

Whether you're newly navigating a diagnosis, deep in the trenches of caregiving, or supporting someone who is, this episode offers both practical tools and permission to find real joy alongside the hard days.

Key Take-Aways:

  • Build a care team early and broadly — beyond doctors, consider nutritionists, therapists, hospice, and community/illness-specific organizations; don't be afraid to ask for help.
  • Keep a notebook or recording of appointments — the fog of caregiving makes details easy to lose, and a log helps you (and your care team) stay grounded.
  • Enrolling in hospice is a mindset shift, not a defeat — it moves the focus from preserving life to preserving comfort and dignity.
  • Protect small daily joys — a favorite food, a familiar show, a beauty ritual — they matter as much as the big milestones.
  • Say yes to spontaneous adventures, even tiny ones close to home; the ones that stick with you aren't always the big bucket-list trips.

If you are caregiving for a parent or loved one right now, we see you, and we are so glad you are here. Subscribe so you don't miss next week's episode, and if this one resonated with you, please share it with someone else in the thick of it — you don't have to carry this alone.

Send us Fan Mail

Thanks for tuning in, your time is valuable and we are so grateful for you! 

Please share this episode with a friend or someone who could use a hug. You are not alone.

Subscribe to the podcast and we'll see you next week! 

Special thanks to:

Podcast Editor Jacqueline van Bierk of Pink Star Music

Podcast Music Good_B_Music

People on this episode