Pain

"Is she in a lot of pain?"

Did my colleague mean the kind of pain that cancer patients feel at the end, at the very end? The kind of pain that goes to your bones and grips your senses that can cause you to uncontrollably moan and groan, and wish you were dead. Is that what my colleague meant?

I hesitated before answering. How could I know for real? How could i ever know if mum is in pain or not, especially as she often has the ability to "bear" with it, to swallow all her pain and discomforts so as not to bother anyone... I get so angry when I find out she's been in a lot of pain or discomfort but does not tell anyone. Why would you do that? For whom is she suffering and bearing the pain?
How can I ever answer on her behalf whether she is in pain or not, and how much pain?

"I think she is. She feels sores. But I don't know whether she's in a lot of pain..."