For all business inquiries theLeslieBowlus@gmail.com
I take you along on my cancer journey as I navigate the road of having terminal, metastatic breast cancer. I share my day to day life, treatment, tests, and side affects. Anything and everything that happens to me as I go through the process of LIVING with terminal cancer.
I am watching this 3 years after this was filmed, I don’t like being critical, but it sounds like there was no plan done before your wife got worse. 1. Never go into palliative care when someone is that advanced, and already dying. Palliative is not end of life care, it is for (mainly) pain management. 2. There always has to be a fight to survive, but at the same time, there has to be a plan put in place to take care of end of life care. 3. You did not consider hospice care instead of palliative care. Yes, the hospice you employed might have not been good, but that is the result of bad plans. It sounds to me that there was more focus on trial treatments vs. seeing the reality, and not planning for the worst scenario. I feel bad for your loss, but to complain about rash decisions is not cool. Instead of a peaceful death, it was a bit of a chaotic death. 🤦🏻♀️
If the patient absolutely doesnt want it, then I definitely am all for patient choice! However, rectal medication can be very helpful for lots of folks. There is a device called a Macy Catheter, thru which you can inject crushed pills (diluted into a syringe full of water) via a tube that is taped to the thigh. I actually have an autoimmune disease, and I have a modified rectal catheter we made (not a Macy Catheter, but something that can be hooked up to an IV apparatus). I've used this everyday for the past three years, and it has changed things so much for the better! I hardly ever need to be admitted to the hospital, and can easily receive meds and fluids, even when my gastroparesis and vomiting makes swallowing impossible. The Macy Catheter is an amazing tool, and I would encourage anyone to at least give it a try. it can be a bit leaky, which is why we ended up fashioning something using IV tubing; but that was more of an issue for us b/c we needed to be able to run large amounts of continuous fluids. Most hospice patients aren't going to need or want that (giving fluids like that at end of life actually increases suffering and doesn't help in most situations). So yes, rectal meds can sound like something you wouldn't want, but it really can work well and be preferable to tasting bitter tablets or trying to swallow and choking. I dont mind suppositories/or even directly placing tablets rectally, but if that isn't something you want, I'd encourage trying out the Macy Catheter as an alternative option. It makes things cleaner and much more dignified, and you don't need a special physician's order and specifically IV meds (which most retail pharmacies don't provide, so it has to be ordered from a specialty pharmacy. Between that and not all home nursing staff being authorized to do IV medications without a specific physician or advanced practice provider order); all of which takes extra time, effort, and (depending on situation and insurance coverage), money. The MC can be placed easily by anyone, is easily taught to the family re how to use, you can use regular meds from the regular pharmacy, and the onset of action and potency is at least equivalent to oral/if not better in some cases because the rectum is highly vascularized and can actually bypass first pass metabolism via the liver the oral meds always go through. For palliative care patients NOT at end of life it can also be used to give fluids; using tap water or saline via a gravity tube feeding bag. It certainly beats going to the ER to get IV fluids (and no pokes either)! Anyway; something to consider if you will be on hospice and/or palliative care and oral meds and fluids have become difficult. Love and prayers to all facing these and other difficult decisions related to palliative and/or EOL care!❤
Dear Mr Leslie, i just came across this msg today. My heart is broken for your loss & your Dear Leslie's suffering. I am in tears. She sure did fight! Know that she has inspired me in my fight. I promise to keep her memory alive. God bless you, your daughter & your son. & your puppies ~ what divine angels they must have been to comfort her also. You have my genuine condolences.
Sorry to hear what you are going through. What about the City of Angels trial of the new drug called AOH1996? If available it would be another trial but it has little or no side effects. Just thought this might be helpful. Discuss with your oncologists.
Hi Thank you for sharing your experiences with Verzenio. I am currently taking Verzenio and concerned about the side effects. I think you look great/healthy. I'm hoping I can keep my hair and stay healthy.
Hello everyone suffering from MBC stage 4. I too, have it. Mine's in my lung, lymph, humerus, ribs and spine. I've been on Verzenio since fall of '21 along with Letrazole. My two complaints about Verzenio are "diarrhea" and fatigue. I thought the diarrhea was only temporary but no...it basically comes and goes. I eat high fiber and drink a lot of water and thin soups, can't have anything spicy. I eat a yogurt daily to try to keep the diarrhea at bay but nothing really works. I take my Imodium and just deal with it. It has physically wiped me out, though. SO TIRED all the time. I take mine at 8am and 8pm. 12 hours apart keeps the level up to therapeutic. I'm also on 100mg twice a day and tolerating it all pretty well. Two things: it does shrink some tumors and it can slow the spread of met cancer, thus extending our life. My scans are all unchanged, I don't have any new symptoms, and my labs are all normal including tumor marker way down. The only thing different is that the last time I had labs, the marker was the same. It had been dropping every time. I don't think I have any brain involvement yet (tumors) as I don't have any neuro symptoms. My brain scan was clear and normal. My advice to Verzenio patients: live your life. Don't let anything stop you from having fun and enjoying yourself. Eat well. Surround yourself with positive people and tell those you love how you feel about them. Don't eat a lot of excess sugar (sugar feeds cancer). Hard to do when you get a terminal diagnosis! Take care, stay strong.
Oh I am so sorry that you and your family have experienced this loss. My wife is going through MSBC now. Since 2013 diagnosed stage 1 then in remission after 4 chemo rounds and 30 radiation rounds and a lumpectomy. In 2018 it went metastatic. She had to have a rod placed in her femur. She was HER2 positive then they placed her on estrogen blockers and she is now triple negative. It went into her bones. Well the Ibrance stopped after 20 months and the xgeva stopped working after 9months. My wife has not had pain the entire time. However it is now in her lungs and she has a liver biopsy 12/27/22. She is having trouble breathing once in a while. They want to start Trodelvy on the 30th. It is so uncertain and being the husband I understand the challenge that this journey has. I am fearful of the future but thankful for the present. We have been blessed with 30 wonderful years together and plans don’t always work out but each day is truly a gift. We do not have children however we do have a very strong support team in our families. We have been told by her Oncologist that there are patients that they have with this who are much older than my wife who are 10 years out with this disease in the lungs and liver. I know that you may never read this but I appreciate your story and again God bless you and your beautiful Leslie and family. It appears she really had a strong loving foundation and support surrounding her throughout her journey.
Hello Leslie. My name is Marta and I am also a breast cancer patient. I actually started using Verzenio about three weeks ago and the side effects are actually horrible. That's why I was researching on RU-vid some patient experience with the use of Verzenio. Let me tell you that I congratulate you, you are a strong woman, who has battled cancer for so long. I'm sorry for everything you've been going through. Like you, I have experienced many of these sensations, although in my case there is no metastasis that has affected my other organs. Even so, I confess that it is an extremely difficult process. Thank you for sharing your experience and I can only tell you that in the church you attend there must be a group of people who will keep you in prayer and that helps you in your process. You can help yourself a lot by complementing your treatment with natural food, eliminating some foods of animal origin. You can visit on RU-vid Back to the garden. There are healthy food recipes and testimonials from people healed through vegan food. Although I do not know your faith, I can only tell you that I profess the Christian faith and I wish that God bless you.
Hi Marta. I, too, would like to know your side effects. I am having more frequent headaches. All my life, I’ve never had headaches. I started having heartburn, and it’s continued to get worse. I drink at least 60 ounces of water a day because the Verenzio is dehydrating. I also started getting neuropathy in my feet, and it is getting worse. I’m trying to walk a lot, and that seems to help. Now I have neuropathy in my hands and fingers. I’m not getting much sleep at night because I feel so sick, the tightness in my legs below my knees and feet is unbearable, and the heartburn is bad. I am still having my blood work done once a month because they come back showing that damage is being done to my kidneys and liver. I go again in two weeks to have my blood drawn and then see my oncologist to go over my results. If my results haven’t improved, my oncologist will probably stop the Verenzio. My cancer started with a lump in my left breast. I was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, ER+, PR+, HER2-. I had a lumpectomy and two lymph nodes removed. Then they followed up with radiation.
She was lucky to have such a beautiful family, thank you for sharing your life, your experience and thank you Leslie's for being formidable as you were love you and happy soul journey 💕🕊️💞🕊️💕🕊️💞
I am so sorry for your loss. What a lovely lady and your so compassionate and patient. My prayers to you and I hope you find peace. She will always be with you.
God bless you and your family. You did right by her and you were so lucky to have each other for so long. I have been through this painful journey until the end with a family member and having that care from a compassionate and knowledgeable nursing staff was the key to a peaceful passing and I am very glad to hear she was in the right place and she let you know how comfortable she was there. Our family member expressed the same thing about how nice her room was and how comfortable it was for her. We were very lucky that we had that time with her. I am sorry the PCU and home hospice were difficult but God made sure that Lesley was at peace and surrounded by love before being delivered home. This is the first video of Leslie's journey that I have watched and I thank you, Leslie, and your family for helping others with your experience so that they can prepare to get the best care possible. I am deeply sorry for your loss but know that you will be together again someday. Rest in Peace Leslie.
Sorry for your loss 🙏🏻❤️ such a hard time for you and the family. I’m sorry she was in pain. May she Rest In Peace now. Sending prayers and strength 🙏🏻🙏🏻
I am so sorry. You must be a wonderful man to fulfil her wishes to keep people posted. I am crying also because the dogs lost a person of trust. I came here to figure out what Trodelvy does for single patients and how promising it really is.
I lost my sister to the very same disease. Hospice was no help, the nurse just kept asking if she pooped. what? you are worried about constipation and then I did the same thing. I called 911, difference,. My sister had no pain and passed gently in the hospital two days later. Every question was amazing advice. Thank you for sharing.
This is gut wrenching and I feel like I was right there sitting with him. I hope there a way to cure or prevent cancer is found someday. My mom stopped her breast tumor growth when she started supplementing with iodine and vitamin D. So I think there are at least some natural treatments for this before it gets worse.
This drug is a tough choice. I feel like staying in bed ALL THE TIME. I've interest in hobbies. I have days with extreme diarrhea where I cannot leave the house even with meds. I see why it's for those that have no other options. Because it sucks!
I'm in the same boat. I could stay in bed forever. Immodium helps with the diarrhea and I try to eat two yogurts a day to help, too. My biggest problem with Verzenio is the fatigue. I'm literally wiped out. I am not hungry at all and weak as a kitten. My doc told me the Verzenio can be changed to Ibrance so I'm hoping I can do that next.
I'm so sorry for your loss. I lost my sister to Metastatic breast cancer. She left behind two small children. It's wonderful that you're sharing this information with other people who may be going through the same thing. Our family went through the same situation with pain management. It wasn't until my sister ended up being admitted into a cancer unit at a local hospital that she got the pump. It helped her so much in her final days. Prayers to you and your family.
I just wanted to let you know how much this video helped me thank you so much for the information, I hope you are are doing well, I never watched any of your wife’s videos,but plan to now I know I will end up crying prayers to you and your family
I'm so sorry for your loss 🥺😔🙏🌈💔 Your video is the first one I see about her journey. She sounds like an amazing woman... I will be watching every single one and lifting you and your family in my prayers. #ifheavenhadvisitinghours
We didn't have a chance to use hospice... our daughter was too unstable to move.... They were there to arrange for home care but left when it was determined the move would be too much....I however wished they would of asked us if we needed any help....This was our daughter...We were basically in total shock trying to grasp the realization that she was going to die
So very sorry for your loss. You honored your wife very well with this video znd continued her legacy of helping people, both the patients and those we ho love them.
