Our Battle with Cancer- update on our journey

Update on our progress so far: 6/21/24 Thank you to all that have been so generous and contributed here. The increase in goal is not an ask of those who have already given. It is in the hope that folks who are new to the link will see that we still need support.

Gerry is still undergoing the hormone therapy and the doctors are pleased with the outcome to date but he is struggling with the side- effects that come with it. The extreme fatigue as well as some other lovely symptoms he deals with on a daily basis are rough on many days.

We have a PET scan on Aug 5th and we will then know what our next steps are. Right now it looks like radiation is a likely reccomendation. I hate to think of what 20% more fatigue from radiation on top of his current struggle with that even looks like. But we will manage that too if that is the outcome.

As I mentioed earlier we have found some Eastern medicine that has helped him a great deal with managing the affects of the current hormone therapy. In fact my hope is that come August 5th, they find the cancer is gone or so weak that very little radiation will be neccessary. Even if he does need the radiation we will need the alternative therapies to mangage that too.

Becuase none of the alternative medicine is covered by insurance I am back one again raising my hand for help. It is very expensive and while I am not one that is comfortable asking for help especially in such a public way , I am once again doing just that. I will do whatever I can do to help my husband and our family. This is one of those life lessons I wish I could skip but I guess that is not part of the plan.

I have updated the photo of Gerry and his best Buddy our grandson Griffey, ( Sean and Cristina's son) that was recently taken during a family photo shoot that was a very wonderful gift from our son Tim and his lovely soon to be bride Breanne.

Thank you all for your support, prayers and good vibes. We are very appreciative and blessed to have not only our family but our community of support during this life chapter for us.

Love to all,

Wendy

We have learned so much in the past few weeks. Some of it frustrating and some of it just part of the deal with Cancer. As a result of our new education I have adjusted our goal to accomodate what the immediate future holds for us.

Between the out of network consultations to find the best treatment options and the out of pocket cost of the drugs for now anyway, the original goal is already being significantly reduced and we are only 2 weeks into the process so I have increased the goal amount here.

Thank you again to all that have given and to all that are keeping us in their prayers. Perhaps prayers are what we need most of all. THANK YOU and you are all very much appreciated by our family.

The background for those new to our journey;

" We do not develop courage by being happy every day. We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity". Barbara De Angelis

This is one of those moments for our family. My husband Gerry, was recently diagnosed with Advanced prostate cancer. We are at the point in life where enjoying our life with our children and grandchildren is the gift from 40 years of marriage filled with lots of ups and downs but we made it to this happy chapter with our family.

Gerry has been diligent with his checkups and screenings all througn the years and this diagnosis came as a real shock. It has been only a year since his last PSA test and Boom, this aggressive cancer has taken root and spread quickly.

While I know we have to follow the normal protocols for treatments to minimize the spread, I am also aware of many side effects of agressisve treatments as well as the new potential treatments that are more outside the box of western medicine and not covered by insurance. There is also an issue with the cost of one of the medications being prescribed here which is $17,000 a month and while insurance will cover a large portion of this we are still going to be left with a hefty balance to cover each month. This medication has had a very high success rate at increasing the window of life expectancy for this type of prostate cancer for patients. My goal here is to provide access to all treatments to extend the quality and years of his life in the hopes that during that time, new treatments will become available.

This is why I am reaching out here. It is not an easy thing for me to be asking for help but I love my husband and our family and I want the best care I can find for him so that he will still be with us and we can continue enjoying this part of life that we have worked so hard to acheive together all of these past 40 years. It just seems so wrong that money is a potential barrier in making this happen. To be honest, I am not even sure what to set as our goal here. I just know we have a mountain of medical expenses ahead.

Thank you for any support you can provide. It goes without saying that all Prayers and positive vibes are welcome and appreciated.

With Gratitude and appreciation,

Wendy