Tue 7/1/2008 10:48 AM

Hey I just got off the phone with the doctor.  She was very concerned about Dad and wanted to know how aggressively we wanted to treat him.  His sodium level is way up again 158 (normals 135-145mEq/L).  She also said that his PSA (prostate enzyme) is 115 indicating that he has prostate cancer (In most laboratories, a value of less than 4 ng/ml is normal. A value between 4 and 10 is borderline, and over 10 is high - from the net)

Her wording was that he is full of cancer with readings that high.  This probably accounts for the hard time they had inserting the catheter. In 1990 dad had a TURP and if the MD didn't get all of the prostate regrows ( Need for re-treatment. Later treatment after TURP is uncommon and significantly less likely, compared with minimally invasive treatments. Some men may need a second surgery after a number of years. A few men require re-treatment because their prostate gland regrows or because not enough of it is removed the first time. - May Clinic website)

I told her we are basically trying to make him comfortable and are not going to aggressively treat any of his issues especially since the pacemaker is dying.

In addition, his heart enzymes were elevated indicating that he has had another small heart attack.

She also said that his heart is only 25% functioning according to an echo that they did the last time he was admitted. 

She indicated that it may be time for hospice care.  I am pretty sure that I agree with her.  I really don't know how much longer he can live the way he is living and I don't know how much more we can put him through until the pacemaker dies.  By treating him aggressively we may get him a few weeks longer.

So this is the most current info.

She said that she would talk to me tomorrow.

Love and hug,

Mary