Hi everyone. Unfortunately, our world has been turned upside down. My father has recurrent prostate cancer that seemed to be well controlled with ADT, but in fact had mutated into Small Cell Carcinoma of the Prostate. He has gotten so sick, so quickly, and we're not sure exactky why. We are concerned he will not get strong enough to start treatment, and it feels like we could lose him any day. I'm hoping someone has some insights that may help us get him stronger.
Here is a timeline of events:
2015: Diagnosed with PC, undergoes radiation, and goes into remission.
2018: Cancer returns and is in local lymph nodes. He starts ADT.
4 Weeks Ago: My father is an otherwise healthy 72 yo man. He is active with no other preexisting conditions, except for slightly elevated BP. He looks younger than his age. A checkup on his PCa reveals the cancer retreating from his lymph nodes. His PSA and T are low, and liver values normal. At this time he notices back pain after working around the house.
2 Weeks Ago: The pain grows progressively worse. He loses his appetite. He is not very mobile, and has trouble breathing normally due to the pain. He goes to see a back specialist who suspects spasms, but also sees something on his liver, and refers the imaging results to his oncology team.
Monday of Last Week: his oxygen levels drop, and his doctor recommends he go to the ER. His oncologist gets around to reviewing the imaging and schedules a biopsy. He has pneumonia from shallow breathing, and starts an IV antibiotic. He is very much weakened, and appears to have aged 10 years overnight.
Thursday of Last Week: he seems a bit better. He is able to walk around the ward four times with some help, but his voice remains weak. Further imaging revealed a 1.2cm mass by his uterer, blocking his kidney, for which he will get a stent. This is the likely source of the pain. He has multiple small lesions in a "not so important" part of the liver, which were not detected earlier as they are not affecting his blood work. Lastly, he appears to also have cancer in a lymph node behind his kidney. So, he has metastatic cancer, but they are small masses which I would not assume to be the primary cause of his continued rapid deterioration (see below).
Saturday of Last Week: he gets a stent put in, and seems reasonably OK, though not much better than when he got in.
Sunday: he goes home, against doctors' recommendations, and immediately seems weaker, and more fatigued.
Monday: he nearly dies. He falls, at 4 AM, doesn't attempt to get to his feet, and becomes unresponsive. He's rushed to the ER again. His BP drops dangerously low. Septic shock is suspected. Later that day the Biopsy results come back as Small Cell Carcinoma. We are told his PC mutated, but it does usually respond to 1st line treatnents, albeit breifly, and then there are a few options. He just needs to get strong enough for chemo.
Tuesday: some bacteria and white blood cells are found in his urine (along with enough blood to make the bag on his catheter appear an orange-purple color) and a UTI is suspected. He seems much worse than when he was discharged the previous Sunday. He can no longer get in and out of bed on his own, much less walk around the ward. His speech is slightly slurred and hard to hear. His face is somewhat drooped.
Wednesday: They image him for blood clots in the lungs as his breathing is still labored, but find none. However, fluid is found in both lungs., and he starts a duuretic. His heart is being monitored. His blood cultures cone back negative, so no sepsis. Rightly or not, this news is actually disappointing, because no one seems to know what is making him so sick. Urine cultures should be back tomorrow. Even moving him to get him more comfortable in bed causes him to wince and groan, but if you ask him what hurts he says one shoulder does. It seems like everything does.. He is somehow getting evaluated for physical therapy tomorrow. I can't tell if he is slightly worse again, as he was given opiates for pain throughout his trunk earlier in the day. I suppose the fact that he was conscious despite that was a good sign. Maybe he's bottomed out. Somehow, he is in good spirits, or at least putting on a good show for us.
That brings us to now. I'm really becoming concerned that he will not improve at all, and not even make it out of the hospital, not to mention becoming well enough to start chemo. I can't imagine all this persistent change is completely due to the cancer spreading, because so little time has gone by, and the issue with the urerer/kidney that was the impetus for all this was functionally resolved.
Most of the details I know about his medical status are second hand, but the plan is to have me more involved going forward. Having said that, the staff keeps looking, so they don't seem convinced cancer is the primary cause at this moment eirher.
I know many people in my shoes think this, but I worry he's getting written off because of his age and disease progression when he wants to live, and has so much and so many to live for.
Any suggestions into what we can do to make him get stronger and eat would be appreciated.
I ordered some CBD oil thru Amazon which, if the doc says it's OK, I'm hoping will help with the pain. I also got some THC gummies, as one of his docs had referred him to a medicinal marijuana dispensary, but he never got well enough for my mom to take him. He seemed to eat a bit better today, but between his current caloric intake, the hormone theraoy, and the amount he has deteriorated, he looks like he has a ways to go before he can even walk again, assuming that is even a possibility. Meanwhike, time is not at all on our side.
Thanks for reading.
The Proper Role Of Medical Marijuana in Prostate Cancer Treatment
Needing Advice
doc says 9-12 months more for my dad
I'm new here. 
Told to listen to his body
