Posted 1/16/2011 7:53 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks to All for such warm welcomes!
In order to answer the question, "what brings you here?", I will attempt to give as brief a synopsis as possible. I will refer to my husband in this forum as, "The D", no pun intended. Really!
Since November is somewhat a blur at this point I will lump all events in sequence as I remember them. Preface to say that until then "The D" was your average hardworking, relatively healthy, going to the gym 3 x's per week, kind of guy. He had back surgery very early in our marriage, and angioplasty 16 yrs. ago. Quit smoking, and joined the gym shortly after that.
All was well until this past November, Prostate Awareness Month, he noticed.
He made an appt. with his GP for some urinary symptoms he was having. Also with his cardiologist, just because he hadn't been in several years. The GP prescribed antibiotics for urinary infection, then sent him for an ultrasound when his PSA came back at 139.9. Of course, that didn't mean much to us at that time.
Once the ultrasound results were in, we were referred to the urologist for a biopsy.
12/07/10 Biopsy results appt. with urologist. Had our adult children, Son,34 and Daughter, 31, meet us there, as suggested when we made the appt.
Out of the 12 cores, all 12 came back malignant. 7 at 100%, 3 at 90%, 1 at 80%, and 1 at 70%. Gleason Grade 9 (5+4). Advanced Cancer, very aggressive. Dr. was very grim, advised us with these numbers there was very likely spread. Set up appt. for bone, and CT scans to see how much.
"The D" went directly from that appt. to the cardiologist for his prearranged stress test.
12/13/10 Stress test results- needs "angio" surgery with a stent
12/14/10 Bone, and CT/wContrast at Hospital
12/21/10 "The D's" 58th Birthday. Also, appt. with urologist, again with children in tow, for bone, and CT scan results. No visible spread on either scan. Good News, Happy Birthday, "D"!!!!
12/27/10 My birthday, and "The D" is having his stent placement surgery, which turned out to be 2 stents. Two hours after surgery, all is well, I"m phoning in his lunch order, and he flat-lines, Code Blue! Comes to, on his own volition, after 28 seconds.
12/28/10 Looking forward to discharge, when he get the news that because of the previous days incident, he will not be going anywhere without a Pacemaker. Not happy at all! Pacemaker surgery at 2:30 that afternoon.
Still really P.O!
12/29/10 Discharge day. Had visits from both oncologists that we had been referred to (by the urologist) during this hospital visit. One being the rad-radiation guy that "zufus" referred to in his post. His recommendation being high dose 3-D Conformal, IMRT 40 sessions, along with 2-3 years Cassodex (which he is already on), and Lupron. Very positive, upbeat kind of guy. He seems to think that even with the high PSA and Gleason scores, at his stage, T3a NO MO, that he is still potentially curable. Sounded good, but we still wanted a second opinion. Discharged around 5:00 p.m.
01/04/11 "The D" back to work, after his cardiologist released him, sight, unseen, over the phone. I'm still peeved at that, just doesn't seem right to me. "D" had no objections though. Probably happy to get a break from me!
01/11/11 Follow up visits with both cardiologist, and urologist. Just gather records from urologist for second opinion, and discussed our visit with radiation-oncologist he had referred us to.
At the Cardiologists office, we learned that the lead attached to his lower heart from the pacemaker was unseated, or had become dislodged!? Means more surgery. Not sure when. He had to consult with the pacemaker surgeon and get back to us.
01/13/11 Appointment with surgical-oncologist at the University of MI for second opinion. Very young, very grim. Looked like he might cry a couple of times, even though we both remained quite stoic. No possibility of surgery at this stage. Recommended sticking with radiation-oncologist for "standard of treatment" in our case. Think of this as an incurable, chronic disease. Good-Bye, and good luck.
So that about sums up where we are at right now. Except, I forgot to mention that our 11 year old Shepard-Rottweiler mix dog, (female) has been ill, gagging, choking, and on a couple of occasions throwing up all over the house. We've been able to squeeze in a couple of Vet visits for a complete work-up, but they cannot find anything wrong. I'm convinced she must be feeling our stress. I'm feeding her two small meals a day now instead of one. A bland diet when vomiting, and an antacid when she starts the choking, and gagging. Seems to be working for now. open to suggestions, though.
I have heard of Marshall, but don't know where it is offhand. Hope this answers all questions. I probably will not post often, but will definitely be keeping a close eye on this site. My warmest thoughts go out to each, and every one of you guys! From what I've read already, I know you guys will be providing a lot of strength, support, guidance, and information, and for that I'm grateful.