Ron has prostate cancer 😟

PeppermintPatty said:
He looks quite comfortable Ronni. He looks as though he’s eating tortillas. 🤤
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@PeppermintPatty I made a lunch box of food. Even though there are an abundance of snacks there, Ron wanted to stick as close as possible to the cancer fighting diet he’s been following at home. So what you can see are veggie wraps. Spinach wrap packed full of veggies.

I also brought a lot of fruit. And yeah, he was very comfy! 🤣
 
I remember those days. I don't know how long Ron got to lay around and be all warm and comfy. When my hubs went in for his chemo, I could run out, drive down to where I knew they sold good coffee and get him one that was long gone before the TX ended.

Same with the snacks and such. I would bring in a bunch of stuff for the room a time or two. Our hospital didn't provide much in snacks so many of the significant others would bring treats in.

I hope he tolerates his treatments as well as my hubs did. None of the side effects so many others suffered so when his cancer wasn't laying him low he could pretty much do whatever he wanted.

Any news on DD?
 
Ronni said:
@PeppermintPatty I made a lunch box of food. Even though there are an abundance of snacks there, Ron wanted to stick as close as possible to the cancer fighting diet he’s been following at home. So what you can see are veggie wraps. Spinach wrap packed full of veggies.

I also brought a lot of fruit. And yeah, he was very comfy! 🤣
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That’s really good Ronni. I hope he sticks to it.
The food he eats will make a huge difference in how his body heals.Thats a very smart move.
 
robin416 said:
I remember those days. I don't know how long Ron got to lay around and be all warm and comfy. When my hubs went in for his chemo, I could run out, drive down to where I knew they sold good coffee and get him one that was long gone before the TX ended.

Same with the snacks and such. I would bring in a bunch of stuff for the room a time or two. Our hospital didn't provide much in snacks so many of the significant others would bring treats in.

I hope he tolerates his treatments as well as my hubs did. None of the side effects so many others suffered so when his cancer wasn't laying him low he could pretty much do whatever he wanted.

Any news on DD?
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@robin416 his infusion lasted about 70 minutes. We expected a longer time, so we were thrilled. They also don’t require a port, so he was able to be infused with an IV. He actually had an IV in each arm, one specifically for the infusion, and the other for blood draws, of which there were so many over that 24 hours that we were amazed he had any blood left!!

I’ll update Sheri’s thread soon as I’ve finished this one. Thanks for asking. ❤️
 
Jules said:
How long and how many of the sessions are scheduled. Wishing him well.
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@Jules he’s on a 28 day schedule. They are referred to as Cycles. He’s on Cycle one and just finished Day one. He has Day 8 and Day 15 to go on Cycle one. Same regimen minus the hospital stay, because he tolerated Day One so well.

Cycle Two is Day one and Day 15. Cycle 3 and subsequent Cycles are just Day one, for as long as this particular regimen is working.
 
Also just to report on his reaction to the cancer treatment two days after infusion. He had a great night of sleep last night, his arms are a little sore and bruised from the IVs, he had a nasty headache last night which resolved with sleep. Other than that, he feels normal. He’s planning to get outside today and mow and weed eat. We’re both curious if he’ll fatigue more easily (one of the potential side effects).

We kept waiting for some of the dire reactions we’d been warned about, and he just didn’t have them! He felt completely normal after the infusion, though he did have some slight stomach upset and a bit of achiness in the wee hours while he was in hospital, but that was it.

This first infusion couldn’t have gone any better for which were very grateful!!
 
Ron's and my neighbor's experience shows how different some chemo treatments are. My neighbor has breast cancer, she goes in once a week. Where Bob had to go in daily for a couple of weeks. His treatments also lasted for longer than Ron's. But no hospital stay to keep an eye for adverse reactions to the chemo. Which he had none of. They didn't even make him tired like they do my neighbor.

They have come such a long way that Ron can be out doing what he enjoys.
 
I missed this thread early but you and Ron are on my mind now. Reading through it now has been quite a useful education - thank you- as of course I have one of the cancer magnet organs too. My friend @Stoppelmann has recently been in for a check too. He has probably already investigated all this but if not he might find all the information you shared early on useful too.
 
Keep up the good healing, Ron. Here are the flowers of Camperdown elm to cheer you up.

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My prostate cancer journey is now officially started. With a pathology report from a completed biopsy the Gleason score is 5+5 10, the most aggressive form. I will now meet with a team consisting of my urologist, a urology oncologist and a medical oncologist to map out a treatment plan. I enter this considering all options on the table and I will opt for the most aggressive program to fight this insidious desease.
 
MarkD said:
I missed this thread early but you and Ron are on my mind now. Reading through it now has been quite a useful education - thank you- as of course I have one of the cancer magnet organs too. My friend @Stoppelmann has recently been in for a check too. He has probably already investigated all this but if not he might find all the information you shared early on useful too.
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My Gleason score is only 6,4, and so the characteristics are less concerning. It still means that I will undergo treatment, because they only got 20 'bites' for some reason, and it doesn't get better by ignoring it. There was concern that the 21st 'bite' during the biopsy could have made the score 7, but rather than go through another biopsy after the prostate has recovered, I have decided to act on what we know.

So, although I am thankful for all the friendly concern, as we hear in this thread, there are people who have a considerably higher score with all of the consequences. I am a nurse who has had patients who had such a high score, so my heart goes out to you all.
 
They upped his dose last visit (last Tuesday) and by Friday he was experiencing the joint pain that is characteristic of this particular drug. He spent the day Saturday with Sheri, ignoring all his own issues, running around buying her a new recliner because hers broke and it’s the only place she can get even slightly comfortable. Went with her to the hospital, spent time with her there. I think I mentioned in the other thread that by the time he got home he was staggering he was so tired and in pain.

Sunday he was a wreck, could barely move, head, neck, shoulder area. He had zero range of motion in his neck, had trouble lifting his arms. It was miserable. Took him Monday in between work stuff to get a massage. That helped a bit, along with lots of Tylenol.

Today he’s back for another infusion, I was going to drive him but his range of motion in his neck had improved enough that he felt ok about driving himself. and he told them of his extreme pain. They’re doing extra blood work, and also talking about adjusting his dosage again.

He’s dreading the coming week, both because of what he’s expecting his pain to be like, but also because he may not be able to spend time with Sheri if it’s bad. She’s still in the hospital while they try and figure out where her extreme pain is coming from. No clue yet when she’ll be released.

So he has lots to stress about. 💔
 
Ronni said:
They upped his dose last visit (last Tuesday) and by Friday he was experiencing the joint pain that is characteristic of this particular drug. He spent the day Saturday with Sheri, ignoring all his own issues, running around buying her a new recliner because hers broke and it’s the only place she can get even slightly comfortable. Went with her to the hospital, spent time with her there. I think I mentioned in the other thread that by the time he got home he was staggering he was so tired and in pain.

Sunday he was a wreck, could barely move, head, neck, shoulder area. He had zero range of motion in his neck, had trouble lifting his arms. It was miserable. Took him Monday in between work stuff to get a massage. That helped a bit, along with lots of Tylenol.

Today he’s back for another infusion, I was going to drive him but his range of motion in his neck had improved enough that he felt ok about driving himself. and he told them of his extreme pain. They’re doing extra blood work, and also talking about adjusting his dosage again.

He’s dreading the coming week, both because of what he’s expecting his pain to be like, but also because he may not be able to spend time with Sheri if it’s bad. She’s still in the hospital while they try and figure out where her extreme pain is coming from. No clue yet when she’ll be released.

So he has lots to stress about. 💔
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It's not just his stress, it's yours too.

If he can take it, can you ask them if ibuprofen is appropriate for his pain? Post op I forego opioids and exclusively take ibuprofen. I find it works better for me.
 
robin416 said:
It's not just his stress, it's yours too.

If he can take it, can you ask them if ibuprofen is appropriate for his pain? Post op I forego opioids and exclusively take ibuprofen. I find it works better for me.
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He can take Aspirin and Tylenol rotated as needed. He hates taking pain meds, but realizes he wonk make it through without some kind of pain management. They offered him a prescription of something stronger but he refused.

And yeah, my stress too. 😖

He and Sheri are in the same hospital, different buildings but same campus. He wants to go see her after his infusion. Of course I understand his need to, but these infusion days with all the tests they run, delays in between consults, the demanding protocols his clinical trial team has to follow, they’re 10-12 hour days. I hate the idea of him adding anything else to his day. 😞
 
Ronni said:
He can take Aspirin and Tylenol rotated as needed. He hates taking pain meds, but realizes he wonk make it through without some kind of pain management. They offered him a prescription of something stronger but he refused.

And yeah, my stress too. 😖

He and Sheri are in the same hospital, different buildings but same campus. He wants to go see her after his infusion. Of course I understand his need to, but these infusion days with all the tests they run, delays in between consults, the demanding protocols his clinical trial team has to follow, they’re 10-12 hour days. I hate the idea of him adding anything else to his day. 😞
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I know what you mean about adding anything else to an already long, stressful day. At first we tried scheduling my guy's appointments on the same day since it was a bit of a drive to his docs. He decided it was too much so we stopped doing that.
 
Jules said:
Does Sherri have bothers and sisters nearby who can help?
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@Jules she has a sister who’s wholly immersed Sheri’s concerns. She’s the one who’s also named in Sheri’s Will as guardian to her kids if something happens. Her Mom/Ron’s ex is very involved as is a couple of her very close friends. Not to mention her long time boyfriend who’s been by her side through all this. He took month off work (accumulated vacation time)

She doesn’t lack for support. But that’s Ron’s kid, y’know? In his shoes I’d be doing exactly the same thing!
 
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