Hello health unlocked friends!
It's been a while since I posted here. I wanted to give an update. For a while my dad was doing pretty well, managing his stage 4 PC with Xtandi and Lupron and then August came and pretty much everything came undone.
In August dad told me he was having some pain in his arm that wouldn't go away. Not wasting any time, I took him to the hospital and there they discovered that he was in need of a bypass surgery. So, on September 10th he had a quadruple bypass.
Five weeks past his surgery we were looking toward cardio rehab and I started to see some declines in dad's mobility. Concerned, I reached out to his doctor who told me to take him to the ER.
Our local ER saw the scan and decided to transfer him to OSU James Cancer Hospital's ER. Dad and I sat in the hallway at the ER in the James waiting on a bed. They weren't overfilled, but understaffed and couldn't admit us for a long time.
Initially they said that dad had glioblastoma and at the very best that 13 months.. worst 4.5 months. We started him on palliative care. They suggested doing a biopsy and a surgery at the same time rather than just a biopsy and re-entering the brain another time. They were 95% sure it was glioblastoma.
Initial results, however were inconclusive. Within a week they determined that dad has Primary Central Nervous System (CNS) Lymphoma. The treatment is very challenging in that he must stay in the hospital until the chemo has cleared his system. It's administered every 14 days and last time it took him 7 days to clear it out of his system. He's had 2 rounds of chemo and is expected to have 5-7.
Honestly, I still can't wrap my head around all of it. For years I have been researching prostate cancer and the next thing I know I'm sitting at the end of a hall, all alone, (stupid covid protocols) being told that my dad was probably not going to live for another year.
We haven't been given a prognosis on the lymphoma and I'm not even sure I want one. When he was first diagnosed with prostate cancer they said 18 months to 3 years and that will be 7 years ago this June.
It's wild what can happen when you hear those words you fear most. I sat alone at the end of the neuro-floor wishing so much for someone to hug. I had to try to get myself together so that I could break the news to my dad. The doctor who had told me dad's diagnosis and prognosis was cold and indifferent. She pulled a chart up off her phone and just read the timelines for him as though it were the expiration date on a jug of milk. I was crying into that stupid mask.. soaking it through and trying to blow my nose with it on. I was a wreck.
I looked up and saw a young man staring straight at me. He had his hand on his heart and the most sympathizing face I have ever seen. In that second I recognized that he knew the pain I knew. I also saw that he had survived and he had surely moved forward, smiled again, and found joy again. I was so comforted. I knew we would get through it. So, I wiped my face and rejoined my dad.
That was back in November.
He's making small improvements. I actually moved him and mom into my house. Mom had a stoke several years ago that left her with tremendous deficits. I homeschool my two children, so it's crazy, but we're making do.
And, today he went for his PSA test. Hard to believe in the middle of all this we're still thinking about his PSA. It has been moving just ever so slightly upward and we've been watching it. They did a full body scan in December and he has no metastases. Nevertheless, if it keeps moving up his doctor might have to make some med changes.
Anyhow, I certainly didn't write this most to negate the seriousness of prostate cancer. I've been on this journey long enough to know how serious it is. Still, having been faced with something as scary as glioblastoma and even now brain cancer.. it makes me thankful that my dad's prostate cancer has been so "well behaved." (For lack of a better term.)
I recognize that I probably should be posting in another forum, but you guys are still my people.. even though I don't post often these days, I still read the posts and keep up.
If you made it this far, thanks! Hopefully I can return with some celebrations regarding my dad's PSA test results today. Sure would be nice if his current chemo could treat the prostate cancer as well, but I doubt it would be that easy.
Stay safe and well,
Lynsi
Stage four very aggressive prostate cancer 
Castration resistant prostate cancer - Starting Jevtana with Prednisone in a few days
Stage 4 A Prostate cancer
Advanced Stage 4 Prostate Cancer with Mets
Stage 4 advanced prostate cancer
