Can such a steep and dramatic decline in Dad's condition seemingly happen overnight?

I'm so sorry to hear that wi57twin. Your family is in my thoughts and prayers.

Wi57twin, I'm sorry for what you are going through.

May God give you strength and grieving mercies.

HUGS

Dad has declined more since last post and is in his final life stage. His anxiety appears to be under control. Opioid switch tomorrow but his time here on earth is now very limited.

He has been on Tramadol and Tylenol with morphine as needed. Last Wednesday he was real agitated in the morning and Thursday he tried to get out of his wheelchair to the recliner and couldn’t stand up. Morphine was started before morning cares. He has had very limited speech for several weeks now. But he seems to be in a lot of pain. The staff and hospice are on top of what’s going on though.

Yes, end of life can involve steep declines followed by plateaus, or it may just be a slow and relatively steady decline. A friend of mine lost her SO to recurring prostate cancer and he went from working to gone very quickly, within weeks. Just try to take it one day at a time, and look for a person (nurse, doc, chaplain, social worker) who can offer you some guidance.

I am not sure that the morphine is responsible for all of the changes that wi57twin has listed. What is the dosage of the morphine being given? When was the morphine started, before or after your Dad started to decline and got the Hoyer lift and the Broda chair?

It could be that the prostate cancer has spread to other parts of your Dad's body. This type of cancer often spreads to the spine and bones and to the abdomen/intestines.

And "YES", such a dramatic decline CAN "happen overnight". Has your Dad been checked for a UTI? They can often cause changes such as those you mentioned. What does your Dad's doctor say about your Dad's health changes?

I'm all in favor of morphine for pain control but I wonder if your dad's decline began when he started morphine?