Hello Everyone!
I know it has been a few days since I last posted anything new, so I figured I better give you all an update.
Pat is still in the hospital for right now. His doctor told us that he looked through the clinical trials, and didn't see any that really fit him. Another option was to use a different formulation of chemotherapy. They would be chemotherapy drugs he has been on before, just a different formulation. He said the chances of this formulation working, is about 15%. He also said that if Pat would be the 1 in 8 that it does work on, it would only prolong his life for a matter of months, and not years. So here we were again, faced with "three options": try these clinical trials (knowing they weren't a good fit), try the different formulation of chemo (knowing there was only a success rate of 15%), or going home on hospice care (knowing that would mean we were giving up). None of the three options made any sense to us.
Pat's dad, Steve, had heard of some natural ways to treat diseases. So I did a little research online myself, and looked at these natural remedies. No drugs, no ill side effects. There is a tea called Essiac tea. If you have some free time google it. It has cured cancer before (and not just once or twice), so it can do it again. Our decision basically came down to this: We have no idea what is going to work. We don't know if this tea will work, we don't know if the trials will work, and we don't know if this new formulation of chemo will work. So in our eyes, the chances are all about the same. If he goes to do either the trials, or this chemo, chances are he will be very sick, and it still may not work. The trials, we would have to travel to another state, away from family and friends here, and have to start over again. The chemo we would be able to do here, but we know how sick the chemo makes him. So it all boiled down to 'quality of life'. Pat decided that he would rather have a better quality of life, and try this natural approach (which has just as good of a chance working as the other methods), rather than try the other methods, and be sicker than a dog, and have a poor quality of life.
I am just completely disgusted about most doctors views on hospice care. We were contemplating whether or not to put him in hospice care (in our home, not at a facility) just so if we needed a nurse, we would have one there. We were NOT contemplating it because we were just going to give up and watch him die. So I asked the doctor yesterday, "If he goes on hospice care will they be able to administer drugs?" He told me, "Yes, but only if they are designed to keep him comfortable (I.E. pain killers). So I asked, "what about anti-biotics"? (The reason I asked is because he is on them now, for an infection, and needs to be on them, or it will eventually kill him. His doctor told me the other day basically that's what will end up killing him. Sort of like AIDS. It's not the disease itself that kills people, it's from their immune systems being so low, they can't fight off infections, and it kills them.) So the doctor responds, "Well, if the anti-biotics are needed to manage pain, then yes. So for instance, if he has an infection in his mouth caused from a tooth, then yes, they will administer anti-biotics, because it is causing him pain. On the other hand, if he has an infection in his bloodstream, and it is causing him no pain, they will not administer anti-biotics." So today Pat asked if he would still be able to get lab work done, and get blood/platelet transfusions if necessary, the doctor told him this, "No, they will not give blood/platelet transfusions, if you are on hospice care. Hospice care is NOT designed to prolong your life, it is only there to make you comfortable." What?! Are you kidding me?! So if he goes home on hospice care (which in our eyes, was just as a backup in case something went wrong), they will just let him die, and not try to save him. Well that's just great!
So needless to say, we will be staying in Montana. We will need to find a place to stay, as we cannot continue to stay, forever, in this hotel that Pat's Aunt Cindy has graciously let us stay in (We love you Aunt Cindy!!). Hopefully they will keep him in the hospital until he is well enough to come home. We will try this more natural approach with open minds, and praying hearts. We hope it works, and at this point, we have nothing to lose. I will keep everyone updated as much as I can throughout this process. I hope to be posting awesome news over the next few months!
Until next time.....
Love
Jen :)
