Due to Jeff’s nausea/vomiting (and ultimately major loss of appetite and weight loss), Dr. Costello (oncologist) called today to see if Jeff could be there at 3:30 for an appointment.
I had already been to Rochester to take him to an appointment for wound care in the morning, but was otherwise engaged this afternoon. I couldn’t take him, so our daughter did.
(I think I forgot to tell you guys that Jeff was in the hospital again 2 weeks ago for a 5 inch wound on his foot that wouldn’t heal. He had peeled off a piece of dead skin and it turned into an infectious mess, but thankfully didn’t reach the bone. (Yes, he’s diabetic. This was not cancer related.) We had a follow up visit this morning so they could clean it out and reevaluate.)
This is the update Channing, our daughter, sent me:
“With dad losing weight and such fatigue they’re worried that he will grow to be too weak for further treatment. Keytruda should be fine but the Lu-177 could possibly do more harm than good due to its potential to drop RBC (red blood cell) counts even more than what dad has already experienced.
Restated that at a time treatment comes to be more harmful than good and that it comes to be a time for comfort & to be ready to have these tough conversations with family, etc.”
Jeff’s PSA is up to 800.
Never mind how crummy he feels, Jeff gives a thumbs up. God bless him.
~ Stephanie
#teamjeffgallagher
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We can only hope. Wouldn’t that be amazing?! I’m not sure my Jeff is gonna catch a break, however that doesn’t negate my genuine happiness when others experience a huge turnaround. ❤️
God bless Jeff indeed! Dammed diabetes too? Man o man . That foot sounds horrible . Thanks to Channing! For caring and loving him . He isnt alone .. 😔🙏
Man, sounds like Jeff just can't catch a break. I'm into my second Xofigo treatment and hoping for some extra time from them.. My MO stated last visit that I too am end stage prostate cancer and there wasn't anything move he could do for me... we'll see. My RO has me on Xofigo and radiation therapy for my mets and climbing PSA. Scans first week in June to see what next. Darned aPca sure won't leave us alone. Bless you for your loving care and best of luck to you with further treatments... Doug.
There is still hope. Hang on to that. Jeff will let you know when it’s too much. Keytruda has the possibility of working well. It worked 8 months for my brother without side effects. Prayers that it will work for Jeff too. Hugs to you Stephanie
Your post makes me wish there was a "don't like" button to push. I saw this yesterday and wanted to comment but was at a complete loss for words. Jeff has been through so much. What a blessing you've been to him every step of the way. Prayers going out to you for strength and him for hope and comfort. I love his "thumbs up". And your smile. Your pictures are inspiring to all of us. It's so important to find the joy in even the hardest of times.
I used my don't like button on your userID but I received a system error. "404 User's Button Box is full (packed)... Try again in a few weeks and maybe box will be cleared by then - Technical Support"
What on Gods Green Earth Stephanie. One bad card after another. It seems Jeff is running out of options? Keytruda has worked some miracles to fellas on this site. I hope the same for you and yours. There are several trials using Metformin to reduce sugar levels which I assume Jeff is on?Comfort comfort comfort. We all have the same destination. If this is the 9th inning, please do everything to keep jeff in the comfort zone. So so sorry for these setbacks one after the other. I swear, Jeff will have his thumb up on his last breath. All our best to you and yours, Mike & Barb
Costello (his oncologist) implied that if Keytruda did not work it was time for hospice.
Should Keytruda fail and Jeff still wants to fight, we’ll seek 2nd opinion. Dr. Kwon is on our side, it seems. We understand that Jeff is in a grave position right now, but if Kwon agrees something more could possibly help and Jeff is up for it, it’s not time to lay down his sword.
I support whatever JEFF wants to do. When he’s too tired to go on, I’ll advocate for his comfort.
When Jeff was first diagnosed as a diabetic, he was insulin dependent. He decided to reclaim his life and started working out every day. He lost 100 pounds. He was able to get off insulin and switch to Metformin. He continued to lose weight and eventually got off Metformin too!!!
It’s disheartening as Jeff had never really been sick a day in his life. He was hospitalized when he was diagnosed as a diabetic and that was the first time anything serious had ever happened to him.
Over a 2ish year journey, Jeff had lost 100+ pounds and was trying to lose those last few pounds when his shoulder started hurting. It was misdiagnosed as a pinched nerve and ensued over a 9 month period.
At the end of those 9 months, he had an incident in which he lost all the strength in his leg and he could barely walk.
Back to ER for the 2nd time in his life and our whole world changed .. terminal prostate cancer.
No one ever fathoms that shoulder pain and leg weakness would lead to prostate cancer.
For awhile there he was on top of the world. He was eating healthy, going to the gym, felt and looked great, and was “beating” diabetes.
While we all hope for the best, we need to make sure we have prepared for the worst. I hope you have had this most difficult discussion with Jeff to ensure his final wishes are planned out and in place; to ensure a smooth transition for him and and your family. Don't wait before it is too late.
Still holding you both in my heart. Still strong enough to give Keytruda a shot. Good. But then I worry he may be enduring more suffering because he doesn’t want to let you and all who love him down. The strength of his soul, if not his body, is certainly strong. Please consider giving him explicit permission to go, to give up the struggle, when he feels the time is right. That will be very hard. ❤️❤️❤️🙏🙏
This is probably a dumb question but are you guys working with a pallative care person? We had the same situation going on and thought my husband wouldn’t make it. We tried quite a few anti-nausea medications and now take olanzapine once a day. I don’t know why but that helped. He also started megestrol acitate after he stopped vomiting to get his appetite going and that helped a lot. I know everyone is different and everyone’s threshold for pain and going through the hell they go through is different. All I know is pallative care really helped us. We use Bruce Anderson at MN Oncology in Maplewood. He is kind and really cares.
I love your handle. My wife is Norwegian (from N. Dakota) and as a child one of her grandmother’s would send lefse to her and her siblings in Oregon for the Christmas Holiday. Eventually, her grandmother passed, and then soon after her own mother also passed.
Now, one of her fondest memories is the time when she got together with her dad, her sisters, other family members and friends to heat up the lefse griddle. They spent a day cooking and prepping potatoes, preparing and eating lefse, and recalling the people they had loved and lost.
Loss is a part of all of our lives, but for the fortunate, love is there as well.
Your Jeff has been blessed to have you and Channing to love and stand by him in his illness. I will continue to hold ya’ll up in my prayers.
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