Unexpected Gifts

Yesterday, I had mentioned that Dr. Burgess had given me a free bottle of Zytiga, and we didn't know how much the second bottle was going to cost.

Well as it turns out, this is a fairly difficult medication to get.  Your typical CVS will not stock or dispense it, it has to be shipped directly to the customer using Fed Ex or the like.  This morning I got a call from this special pharmacy, and they confirmed my address to ship me a new bottle.  The best news of all is that they have confirmed that it is 100% covered by my insurance, and there will be no out-of-pocket cost to me!

Thank God for that!

As I read more detail of Zytiga, it turns out that when prostate cancer metastasizes, the new legions themselves have the ability to produce more testosterone to continue to feed the cancer growth.  Typical Androgen Deprivation Therapies (ADT) will only suppress the testosterone produced by the testes, but Zytiga will attack it all.  So clearly this becomes a more necessary step when I'm unresponsive to previous treatments.

It seems like it's pretty harsh stuff too.  Warnings abound that women should not handle this without gloves, and there is even a note to say that it is unknown if Zytiga can pass through the semen, and un-protected sex is highly discouraged because of how poisonous this is to women.  I also have to be careful to ingest only on an empty stomach, and to set a particular time of the day to take it consistently.  So I now have to block off time in my day when I shouldn't eat.

Well onto another note.

Yesterday I also had a contractor from Forever Living Homes visit to measure the house and look to make it safer.  There wasn't a whole lot we wanted to change other than put in a lot of grab bars that meet ADA specification.  The rough guess is that it should cost about $1000, and this is unlikely to be covered by insurance.  A harder number should be coming soon, and we look forward to the railing.  The other nice news is that there are railing options that still fit the house aesthetically and remain ADA compliant.  I don't mind the typical brushed stainless steel in my master bathroom, but for the stairs leading up to the second floor, I would like to get oak rails that match our current railing and dark stain.

Even after I pass, these rails will be helpful to Laura as well.  While my cancer may be taking center stage at the moment we should also recognize that Laura is not in the best of health either. She's an insulin dependent diabetic, and has a lot of difficulty moving herself around too.  We appreciate every donation and aid received.

God bless you all!