Denver

Mary, Jan, Gus and Dorothy

Katherine and Gus

Gus loved his trip to Denver. He stayed with his sister, Mary. Monday afternoon, his other sister and brother-in-law, Jan and Ray, came from Paige, AZ. He was with his Mom four times. They took Dorothy to lunch on Tuesday, before Ray and Gus spent most of the next three hours lost in the rain somewhere in the Denver area.

While in Denver, he spent time with his nephew, Jeff, and his family. He visited his cousin, Nancy and her husband, Vick. Gus also went to Kiowa, CO, to see Katherine and her husband, Randy. Katherine is the daughter of one of my favorite cousins from Washington.

Gus was able to golf only one time while there. He and Mary went Monday morning. He thoroughly enjoyed himself, but rumor has it, no records were set on low numbers. Gus never felt well enough again and the weather never co-operated. In fact, Denver even had tornados on Tuesday.

The struggle continues for us. Food no longer tastes good to Gus. He lost three pounds in the few days he was gone. Our next step is to start on the calorie rich weight gain drinks that Gus detests. There is a powder that the doctor gave us to try. You mix it with whole milk and get 600 calories in 8 ounces. I will probably gain weight just mixing it for him.

We talked last night of the things we refuse to give up. No matter how hard golfing is on Gus, quitting is not an option. Golf is one of the things he loves. Even if he can physically do only five or six of his nine holes, that is enough. We are going to force ourselves to focus on what he can do, not on what he can’t do.

A Long Overdue Trip

Lane, Gus and LT

Lane kept begging his grandfather to go for a motorcycle ride, so last Sunday they had some fun. They have only gone to the golf course once this spring, due to the nasty weather we have had. Gus can tolerate very little cold.

Gus is flying to Denver this Saturday to visit his mother and both sisters. He will be gone for six days. It has been fourteen months since Gus last saw his mother and sister, Jan. This trip is long overdue.

We were waiting to see how he responded to this new treatment before making plane reservations.

Gus maintained his weight this week and only has a rash as a side effect. The rash looks like teenage acne and only seems to be affecting his face and chest. It was quite the challenge this morning to shave around all those pimples.

Gus is planning on taking his golf clubs to Denver in hopes the weather cooperates.

This morning, we did schedule his next cycle of chemo with golf in mind.Gus will do blood work and see the doctor first thing each Tuesday. He will then go to the golf course and hopefully have the strength to play nine holes. After golfing, Gus will go back to the cancer center for his infusion.

New Treatment Plan

Gus has been on his new treatment plan for ten days now. Nothing drastic has happened with side effects other than weight loss. Gus has lost ten pounds in the last two weeks . . . seven of those pounds in the last week. This has become the biggest concern for everyone involved.

Gus’ appetite is good and he concentrates on eating throughout his day. He is getting so frustrated. No matter how hard he tries, the scales will not reward him.

We questioned the doctors as to why the sudden change with Gus’ treatment plan. The decision was based on Gus’ symptoms April 6th when we had met with our oncologist. We don’t disagree; we just felt the other treatment plan was still very effective and we knew how he tolerated it.

The CA 19-9 taken April 27th was great. It was 58, which is almost in the normal range. We were surprised the positive numbers on the CA 19-9 didn’t have more influence with the doctor than it did. Gus’ other symptoms of pain and fatigue seem to be more of what the doctor is concerned with than what the CA 19-9 shows. I feel so much of the fatigue he is experiencing is because of the narcotic pain killers. He is drugged all the time.

Another note of interest, the oncology pharmacist in Bozeman has been studying reports on the toxicity of the drug given to Gus in the infusion room. She has discovered that the faster it is infused, the less toxic to Gus. So after 1 ½ years of being on this chemo, the last two times Gus has received it, it took only 30 minutes as opposed to 90 minutes. The oncologist also increased the dose because it is the only traditional chemo Gus is receiving now.

The PA we met with on Tuesday worked in a VA hospital oncology department for 13 years. In all that time, she can only remember one patient having pancreatic cancer. They have at least three patients right now in Bozeman being treated for pancreatic cancer.