My husband's femur broke and shattered on Friday afternoon. Rushed to hospital only to be told no surgeon available. They called 5 other hospitals and all declined his admittance due to lack of rooms or no surgeon available. Finally last evening he was transferred to Markham Stouffville Hospital at 8:30 . It is now Sunday at 8:00am and still no surgery. He is on wait list. Sorry about the rant.My question is has anyone here had bones break or shatter like that? He was diagnosed with Prostate bone cancer which was detected in his femur in March of 2020. He has had Chemo and is now on Radium 223. Had his 3rd shot and scheduled for his 4th next week. Not sure what is going to happen with his cancer treatment now that his recovery time for healing after femur surgery is anywhere from 2 -6 months.
Broken shattered femur: My husband's... - Advanced Prostate...
Broken shattered femur
my friend Mark , Urang on this group , had quite a number of bone fractures and breaks in his femur , pelvis , his mandible , ribs …. but mostly his spine.
He fought and persisted over 22 years and had a long time to experience these issues. Most times he had stainless steel rods or plates installed and went on about his business. An xray of his spine , upper and lower looked like a stainless steel jewelry store , I used to like to say. Occasionally, some screw or plate would pull out of the deteriorated bone and he’d have to go back in for an adjustment. It seemed quick and routine.
Mark was a warrior, but he also got a lot of opiate meds for his discomforts as well. It seemed like it’d happen, he’d go in and get it fixed and he’d be up and about pretty quickly and get on with his daily life. This was back in the more primitive times of aPCa ….when there was fewer and more ineffective treatments and he still went on about his life ….mostly same as it ever was as much as possible. Every case is different, of course, but this is one example.
Hope hubby gets those screws and / or metal rods in quickly and gets back out and about … and back to his QOL time with you and the family. A warm ehug out to you and hubby.
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Thank you for your uplifting positive comments. I'm at the hospital now waiting for Mel to cone out of surgery. Praying that he heals as well as your warrior friend
I think Mark passed around the time or soon after I started perusing the forum here. It might have been how I gravitated to you bro kal.
What you said about Marks warrior existence strikes a chord with me but as usual I might not be able to communicate it as well as I would like.
My response to treatments these 3 1/2 years has always been average not lasting more than a year and not bringing PSA's to single digits, and scans always showing the skull to shins mets present. But except for very minor mobility issues and minor pains mainly with movement I carry on fairly well at my 66 years of age. To cut to the point in reference to Mark I wonder if as long as I can avoid the bone marrow degradation from current treatments that so often these days leads to our eventual demise I wonder if I can get a decent amount (decent being of course of my opinion lol) of time still.
About a month and a half ago I came out of a 5 month slump of feeling rotten in every respect due to chemo SE's and PC progression. Had to quit chemo after 3 infusions but 3 1/2 years ago I tolerated 6 chemo infusions.
So for about the last month and a half I have been feeling great, on top of the world, with a PSA at 135, random bone met pain, a limp in left leg, limited range of motion in arms, and of course all the other--no strength etc. But I feel good! My MO said yesterday that we do indeed need to pay attention to how we feel and not PSA of course.
I dont know what I'm saying. Just thinking if I can soldier on with pain meds and metal rods I'm game. I find myself saying as far as how I am doing "I'm doing good enough".
But of course I'm enlightened enough to know we arent all the same. It is a day at a time.
I hear you buddy …. Sometimes we just have to try to look for something on the positive side. Sounds like ,to me , you’ve got that “ I feel good “ part to help you. Man that’s a real valuable thing in our business. Something to lean into and treasure as long as possible. I rarely “ feel good “ ….I’m a dull “ okie doakie “ on most of my good days yayahahahaya. Yayahahahaya
I’m with you buddy …. Seems like both of us are keeping our eye on the prize of “ staying alive “. Yayahahahaya. Mark was one of us but the poster child of endurance and preserving. Both of us want to have our pictures in the “ I lasted a long time “ hall of fame, next to him yayahahahaya.
Everyone is different , lotsa guys here say they would just “ let go “, go hospice … before they’d endure the beating some of us take. I fully understand that perspective, not saying it doesn’t cross my own mind briefly, sometimes. We’re “ hell no , we won’t go “ types … that’s the name of that tune. Yayahahahaya
Love ya buddy
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Thats kwel Kal. You got it. Seems I somehow swerved and spit out a little bit of coherent writing in what I was trying to convey lol.
Love ya back man.
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you make sense and seem quite lucid to me ….sharply aware and in control of your faculties. Not everyone can express themselves the same …or with the same finesse- clarity. Nevertheless you seem quite capable to me ( oh dear yayahahahaya ….. here comes the broadside ). Don’t sweat it bro … you da man. We’re amigos here …
love ya
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I am so sorry to
Hear about this. I have been through it. My husband was feeding birds in a bird feeder, fell, and broke his femur. I had to call an ambulance snd he went to
ER. He had done all chemos and had just finished last dose of Radium 223. Was waiting to start on zytiga when this happened. He was at stage of getting platelets and transfusions. He was admitted, and had to wait 3 days to have rods put in both legs because he was on blood thinners and had to get them out of his system before they could do it. Its common with bone cancer to get breaks. They are very delicate and a simple fall can be a huge disaster. With that being said, after the surgery he will be in a facility to recover and learn to stand and walk. Its quite a process. He will be in a wheelchair but he can walk again. Just take a deep breath. You may need to wait the 5 days and be on pain meds until then . Surely someone will admit him for the wait. Praying for you and your husband
Thank you for your response. My husband had surgery yesterday afternoon. They put a rod in and they already had him standing, taking a few steps and ate his lunch in a wheelchair. All this in less then 22 hrs after surgery. How long for recovery for your husband?
Thank you. My hubby, Mel had surgery on Sunday. Less than 24 hrs later they had him out of bed , took 10 steps with assistance if walker to sit in a chair and have his lunch. Today, he walked with walker to the nurses station, about 100 steps away. They were astounding and applauding. My hubby, the 78 year young, energizer bunny.
My husband finally had the surgery putting a rod in his left leg. He was released 5 days after surgery to come home. His rehabilitation is being done here under my care. It has been 4 nights and I swear I have had less then 12 hrs sleep in total. We were dealt a crappy hand and we just have to deal with it. Love my husband and will be with him throughout this journey. We both try to stay positive and hope and pray that tomorrow will bring a better and brighter day. We are in this together.
Did he fall, or was this pathological, or osteoporotic? Is he getting bone strengthening injections (XGEVA, PROLIA, or ZOMETA)? I'm sorry for his suffering, I can't believe there's not a Surgeon staffed on a weekend. Then I saw your bio and realized you're in Canada, and it made more sense. Good luck, you should consider moving to a Free Country where Doctors practice 7 days a week, and are on call for emergencies.
Excellent point. Important issue. I’ve had over 50 sessions of Zometa , so far. Getting another in a few days. My entire skeleton is a mess and Zometa has helped me stay together. There are many good bone strengthening meds, his pcp or prolly oncologist will know.
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I started on Xgeva shortly after beginning Eligard, Zytiga and Prednisone. I received Xgeva injections every 28 days for 2 years, then Oncologist cut back to One Injection every 90 days. Shortly beginning the new dosing, I was diagnosed with a Compression fracture at the T 11 vertebra. No clue how it happened. In fact it was my PCP who recommended the x-ray as I had been complaining of back pain for over a year, but this pain was different. She (PCP) also ordered a Dexa, (which I'd never had before) and my T-Score was -2.3 in the femoral neck. Even after all the Denosumab, D3, Calcium Citrate, and multi vitamins , I've got thinning bones and a fractured spine. Asked oncologist about adding estradiol patch .....he almost fainted. ABSOLUTELY NOT he advised. I'm looking for a second opinion on the E2 Transdermal patch
HA HA, I just asked my MO about a E2 patch also after supplying several supporting articles. Got turned down because of "lack of enough data", jeez. I was just diagnosed with osteo but will not be able to take bisphosphonates, was suggested a parathyroid hormone i.e. Forteo. Not sure if that is any better though.
My honest opinion is e2 doesn't pay the bills. The PATCH study of transdermal delivery via estradiol has been ongoing for 13 years. There's plenty of information, as well as plenty of success. My MO gave me the tired excuse that it may have cardiovascular complications.......like the sh*t I've been on for 4 years doesn't? I think it's all money. But they all forced us to get that experimental jab if we wanted to be allowed in the office for treatment. Right? But a therapy that's been in trials for 13 years needs more study? $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Meanwhile I feel like Sh*t every day and I'm afraid to over do it for fear of a broken bone
seems like , no matter what , our bones ..esp spinal chords , just continue to waste away. Even if we didn’t have aPCa , I’d be bad d ough my us old guys …. add in the bone munching cancer just compounds it considerably.
I mentioned E2 to my oncologist and , like yours , he went ballistic yayayaya. Said all that would do is give me a heart attack. That I’m nowhere healthy enough to even remotely think about it. Yayahahahaya yayahahahaya. Well, it was worth a try.
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I'm only 59
man I hate it when I hear you young guys stuck in this stuff. It just seems so wrong . On the up side , you are younger and more fit than us old guys. You can fight it harder and probably last longer, depending up how aggressive it is. No matter what, there just isn’t a “ meaningful “ up to aPCa.
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Of course they practise on weekends. Our health care system is broken right now. I'm surprised he did not get an operation quicker as this was an emergency. Don't get me started on the US health care system where it's good if you have money. Both systems have problems.
He did receive surgery yesterday (Sunday) at Markham Stouffville Hospital. It is a fabulous Hospital and they already had him up today taking a few steps and sitting in a chair to eat his lunch.
Anyway he could get Sunnybrook or princess Margaret Hospital, I'm In the north they sent me to Sunnybrook and princess Margaret one took my prostate and the other did the psma scan, great hospitals if you can get in.
My husband twisted a bag of two tomatoes at the store to close it and broke his arm. The term you want is "lytic" lesion. PC usually hardens bone as it replaces it but in some cases it eats through it. The surgical repairs can be very difficult if there is no good bone to attach to.
We were horrified to learn sometimes they just leave the limb broken and treat with pain meds. My husband did eventually have arm surgery but the doc told him to use the arm very carefully, as the repair was fragile.
So sorry you're going through this.
Best luck.
That’s such a tough situation. Hopefully the surgery can get him mended. Take care
If you should ever have another incident regarding your husband needing medical attention. just tell the ambulance driver to drive him to the nearest hockey game or soccer match. With all the injured there (athletes and fans) he will see a lot of doctors (most with a can of diethyl ether called Moosehead) in their hand.....
Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.
j-o-h-n Monday 06/26/2023 3:49 PM DST
Wow. These stories reveal how tough dealing with prostate cancer can really get. Hang in there.
All stupidly aside..............That must hurt worse than a poke in the eye with a stick,,,,
Hang Tough Docker............
Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.
j-o-h-n Monday 06/26/2023 6:37 PM DST
Hi. My family is also located in Markham. My dad spent two weeks in Markham Stouffville and to say I was upset at the hospital is an understatement. I see from the comments that your husband had surgery now, so that is good news.
If you can get your husband to Sunnybrook (I know they are busy) it is a much better hospital. We actually took my dad out of Markham Stouffville, drove to my apartment in Toronto, and called the ambulance there to get him admitted (rather than a transfer). His doctor was at Sunnybrook and they took so much better care of him.
If you ever want to talk, please let me know ❤️
Markham Stouffville Hospital wanted him out asap. He wasn't ready to come home
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