31 replies to this topic

[Pacobell]

He's been missing since mid January.

He signed into YIM about 2 weeks ago but said nothing.

I don't think that was him.

He hasn't been here since January.

 

I tried to YIM his daughter in YIM and got no reply.

 

I think he might have died.

has anyone actually heard from him since January?

 

[Mekare]

No, Hun.. I haven't.

[Bluehaze43]

I sincerely hope that you are mistaken too.

[Pacobell]

Frank is alive and well...FINALLY heard from him!!!

[FrankNStien]

 I apologize to all, especially Pacobell/Edward. The facts are :-

 In sept 2011 I was informed my cancer (which Id already been fighting for about 6- yrs and which was quite advanced when found) had turned VERY aggressive. My hormone treatment was no longer effective (prostate cancer needs testosterone, so for past 2-3 yrs Id had female hormones to nuke it, effectively chemical castration). I asked how long, and was informed STATISTICALLY 2 yrs.

 I recently asked my home nurse how I was doing, did I look like a typical patient with 5 months left and she said she reckons I'm beating the odds. OF COURSE one must remember that these treatments themselves take a massive toll, so I could drop dead tomorrow ( had a slight heart attack 3 yrs back, Angina, pulse topping 210 at times, 180+ is VERY DANGEROUS) .

 

 Put simply it all boils down to a few things :-

 1/ You'd be amazed how busy you can be when you know your dying

 2/ Hospital visits, almost every week and sometimes 3 or 4 days in a week, went today or emergency check - 8-12 days constipated, enemas don't work.

 3/ BLODDY cold in the comp room, and as my general status is bad, it seems worse. In fact we have had a shocking and long winter.

 4/ APATHY - no surprise there.

 5/ Worsening of my depression (no surprise again) which was not helped when my brother died 2.5-5 yrs back, and further not helped when, on going to the UK for a 1 week visit in spring, my sister said I couldn't stay at there house. She was worried I'd mess-up her furniture and bed with my catheter.

 6/ Ive had a bad back since I was 13, I have frequent "episodes" of problems, from a week or 2 to 9 months physio. 3 yrs back I had a SERIOUS hernia. Eventually we thought it had cured. Last summer it cam back with a roar oh sorry, that was me on a morning for 2-3 hrs after getting up screaming in pain). A new scan showed it was now a double hernia with 3 displaced vertebrae. Doc said that situation an Op was VERY risky, then I started falling over with 2-3 seconds paralysis on left leg. Well, after having head butted 3 brick walls and 2 doors, I decided action was vital. I had Micro-neuro surgery last November. Main pain curred, but there is evidently nerve death, my left leg is now too weak to lead on stairs. in last 3-4 weeks my back has begun to hurt again, bad enough for me to use morphine at night. I just hop its not a 3rd disc gone.

 

 7/ ALSO in the news. I have diabetes myelitis, type 2 that is.  HYPO (under) active thyroid. and a slight Abdominal Aortic aneurysm. 

[Visigoth]

Damn...that just sux...

 

{ mebbe you should get some new parts }

 

hope things get better frank, been missing your wit around here

[Mekare]

Oh my.  Frank, you've been through quite alot. 

 

I agree with Vis.. miss you around here and you definitely need some new parts.

[OnionGroove]

Has anyone gotten an update on Frank?  I don't spend much time here anymore because I don't have Internet, and there's only so much you can do at the library.  I only saw this thread on Tuesday, which makes me feel like an idiot...I hope he's beaten the odds with a great big ugly stick.

[FrankNStien]

Has anyone gotten an update on Frank?  I don't spend much time here anymore because I don't have Internet, and there's only so much you can do at the library.  I only saw this thread on Tuesday, which makes me feel like an idiot...I hope he's beaten the odds with a great big ugly stick.

 so far so good. 

 Since last post (bad choice of words)  Ive had 3 Radiotherapy treatments to address specific places of pain in my chest (I seem to have a small tumor in Left rib 6 and somewhere in breast bone).

My PSA (a fairly good indication of how much cancer my body has in total) was rising at 40-50 points per 2 months. 3 months back (just as the oncologist was going to start a new Hormone treatment) it fell from 217 to 190 over 2 months, so she is holding off for now as including radiotherapy, there are only 3 treatments left to me which I still don't have resistance to.

 Back has developed a new (small) hernia in the middle - having terrible pain in Rt rib cage. Getting nerve blocks tomorrow to see if it helps, if not Ill be referred to Neurology again.

 

 So, in summary - no actual new health problems, just some of them extending. 

 Am beating the odds, aside from being very weak and close to no stamina (1 flight of stairs and I'm knackered) And back pain, ,I'm actually not to bad.

 Reckon I have at least 1-2 yrs in me yet, so long as the cancer doesn't get even more aggressive and mutates to be immune to still more treatments (the only 1 it cant adapt to is radiotherapy - and the last possible Chemo apparently can only be used for a single course - 30 weeks).

[OnionGroove]

 Am beating the odds, aside from being very weak and close to no stamina (1 flight of stairs and I'm knackered) And back pain, ,I'm actually not to bad.

Frank, I am so very glad to see your reply.  I sent you a PM a while back;  read it when you can, you don't have to reply...it's just stuff I want you to know.

[FrankNStien]

Bit of a downer.
To add to my troubles, it seems i had a TIA at the weekend. That is a short minor stroke.

Vision kept blurring
I was sitting on a kitchen chair and kept falling to the left
Head turning to right
Sweating heavily
Couldn't walk in straight line (id decided to move from kitchen to living room as i was pretty certain i was about to fall off the chair)
Just after i sat down in arm chair with other symptoms receding, tried to throw up 10-12 times.

Then slowly recovered.


Not a nice experience. Now i have a possible full stroke hanging over me.
Spent all today (Tuesday) in hospital for tests, all negative. Duuh.

Edited by FrankNStien, 22 January 2014 - 16:18.

[OnionGroove]

Frank, sending my best healing energy to you.  Hope it gives you a boost, my friend.  **Hugs**

[FrankNStien]

Latest status
6 months back my PSA was 217 (a direct measure of how much prostate tissue is in my body), it dropped, then dropped a second time (checkups at 2 month intervals) to 177. Looking good. HOWEVER, at todays checkup i was informed the PSA was now 246, its highest since my radicle surguery 8 yrs ago.

I restart Chemo friday next week.

Im also being referred to the radiotherapy unit to make a scan of the top of my chest, top of breast bone and collar bones.

Finally, ive been bleeding in my bladder off an on, mostly on, for 4 weeks now. At weekend it was very bad.

Edited by FrankNStien, 29 January 2014 - 00:09.

[Mekare]

(HUGS) I'll keep you in my thoughts, Frank. 

 

Please give us an update when you can or have someone post for you.

[Debrutsid]

I am just glad the stubborn old bastard keeps fighting back. Keep up the fight.

[OnionGroove]

I am just glad the stubborn old bastard keeps fighting back. Keep up the fight.

This deserves repeating.

[FrankNStien]

 Well

Mekare

 Asked for updates - So :-

  Mostly solved the bladder bleeding by stopping my blood thinners for 2 days. Off and on, but now mostly off.

 Restarted CHEMO last Friday as PSA gone up. Was due to start it a week earlier but a heavy chest infection delayed it. Currenl;y feel like a worn out dish rag.

 Doc gave me Anti-biotics for the cough, a little better - but still going after 4 weeks. Saw the Long Doc 2day (just 24 hrs after seeing my house doc), theres a shadow on my Rt. lung in an x-ray taken in Jan, but not now. He thinks I may have had phneumonia which got cleared by the anti biotics - but left a heavy clean-up job. So (sigh) I now have an inhaler as well    :-(.

 

 Thanx for your wished peeps. FrankN

[akbar]

Well, heres hoping that the Pneumonia was a major player in other health complications, and that now that it is getting cleared up you start feeling healthier.

 

Best of luck to you.

[GatorFett]

Get better!  We are all thinking of you.

[Mekare]

Thanks for the update, Frank.. please keep them coming. 

 

(((((((HUGS)))))))