Posted on 03/27/2020 11:26:28 AM PDT by Kaslin
RUSH: I wanted to update you on my health. And the first thing to tell you is Im fine. Im sitting here at my official home library desk, and I am fine. Now, heres where my problems began. The cancer I have, the lung cancer I have involves the mutation of a gene that occurs in 1 to 5% of lung cancer patients. Now, ordinarily that would be very bad news because it would be something that maybe theres no medicine for or that theres no targeted treatment for.
It turns out its the exact opposite. It turns out it was good news because there is a clinical trial of a combination of chemo drugs that has been very successful in attacking this particular gene mutation in melanoma cancers. So the clinical trial that Im in and I went into it with full knowledge that it was a trial, a stage 2 trial. I had every option every cancer patients ever had presented to me by numerous doctors, numerous places, I chose what happened here.
The stage 2 trial Im in involves targeting with two different drugs the mutation that has caused my stage 4 lung cancer. By the way, my voice is weak only because I havent used it much. Theres nothing wrong there. And everything was going along fine. The first four weeks we were all feeling great because they warned us that the side effects of this drug could be pretty bad. Normal things like nausea, vomiting, fatigue, none of that happened to me. So the first four weeks went by, were kicking butt, were thinking this was great. And we have some indications that its working as well.
Well, late last week I began to find it very difficult to walk. My muscles in both legs, from the waist down, began to retain fluid and swell up incredibly to the point that ten days ago, Monday of last week when we were away for treatment, I could barely walk in the hotel room and needed a wheelchair to get where I was going. I kept taking the chemo drugs, thinking that it would be something that I could get past. I didnt get past it and developed fevers of 102 to 103, which were also part of the list of side effects that could happen.
The point is, after about five weeks on this stuff, it all just hit me. And all of last week I was unable to get out of bed. Primarily because I couldnt walk. The degree of pain and the swelling in both joints and legs and Ill give you an idea of the pain. Cause they asked me to describe it. I said, Imagine you have been sedentary for a year and then one day you go to the gym or you go practice football or you do a two-hour, strenuous workout. You know how you feel the next day, your muscles are filled up with lactic acid, you can barely move? I said, Thats what its like times five for me.
Oh, okay, and they start writing it down, making notes. But I was not given anything for it. We just kept going with the treatment hoping that it would be something my system would metabolize and move beyond, but it didnt. So it got bad enough on losing track of the days here. I guess it got bad enough last Monday or whatever that we had to pull the treatment. We had to pull the treatment, and it was going to be just temporary for a week or two to see what would happen. Im now taking drugs, steroids, to reverse the effects of the chemo drug.
Heres the irony, folks. The chemo drugs are working. They were Im not gonna go into detail about how we know because I dont want to provide too much target area for media to go searching on the internet what Im dealing with. But, trust me, it was working and its working so well, the doctors want me to continue doing this and put up with the leg pain.
I cant do this, I told them. I cant do this. I cant work, I cant think, I cant Theres just no way. Its the same old question that cancer patients have. You have to balance quality of life versus length. So there are other alternatives that were looking into. Ive currently suspended the treatment and were looking at alternatives, and there are plenty of those. But Ive gotta get the swelling down and get this pain taking care of.
Otherwise, I wont be able to do anything but talk to you from this desk on a phone. So thats the status of that. Im feeling much better physically having gotten off the chemo drugs. I think we dropped them Monday or Tuesday. (As I say, the days are running together.) So I wanted to share all this with you because there had been a lot of people concerned at the ongoing, extended absence, which is unlike me.
And Ive made it very clear that the only place I really want to be during all of this aside from at the side of my lovely wife, Kathryn is in the radio studio. And the fact that you cant do that is frustrating, and it was something everybody was noticing. So I started getting little emails from people. You read between the lines, theyre saying, What the hell is going on! Where are you?
So I thought itd be wise and prudent to come in and share some of these details with you. Im looking at the clock. Lets take a break here and well come back after the break and well get back into some of the observations Ive had about whats going on with the coronavirus and what is happening to our country. Its the Rush Limbaugh program. I made it past the call screener. As far as I know, Im still on the air. I have not gotten myself thrown off yet.
It was trial drugs, and he said in the article that he wasn't going to get into what drugs, or what specific treatment because he didn't want to give the media cannon fodder to pursue.
Rush called into his show for a few minutes today to update his audience about his medical status. In case you missed it, here’s a transcript.
Prayers
Those effing pieces of Media shite...
“Hell come out on top. God bless him.”
He’s already at the top, in my book. This is a tough damn thing.
I thought he sounded weak as well.
Thanks for the update, Rush. Prayer love.
Prayers for Rush!
Optimism is a amazing. It is the key to the success for both Rush Limbaugh and President Trump. Optimists may fail, but they never quit and they have superior odds. I love optimists.
I won’t be surprised in the least if Rush beats his cancer and gets a new lease on life. Not in the least. Optimism 101.
Dittos bump
A REAL man. A Man’s man. God bless him.
A prayer for Rush:
FATHER we thank you for all our blessings in the Lord Jesus Christ. We think of your Son and all HE passed thru to save our souls and redeem us back to YOU when he suffered the full weight of Your judgement against sin on the cross.
We thank you for the Hope we have in Him. Your Word reminds us in John 14:
Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me(Jesus Christ). 2 In My Fathers house are many [a]mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
We are very thankful to know in the end we will be with our Savior and God forever.
We ask that You give help with Rush. Give the doctors wisdom to help him manage this illness. PRESERVE him if it is Your will. Deal gently with him. Restore a measure of health to him that will allow him to get back to work. Ease his physical pain.
Most importantly draw near to him that he might learn more of Your perfect ways.
We ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ confident that You ARE, AND REMAIN, a prayer hearing and prayer answering God.
AMEN
A year later, after 2 brain surgeries and chemo, he is back to work (remotely), and still a tech resource to be envied.
We have come a long way baby! Same can happen here for Rush. Never give up, and do it to not give the libs any satisfaction!
Prayers up!
>>>Lets take a break here and well come back after the break and well get back into some of the observations Ive had about whats going on with the coronavirus and what is happening to our country<<<
Did he come back on after the break?
“”””””””’I am wondering if there are no drugs that can offset the leg-swelling side effect of the cancer treatment and not also interfere with the treatment”””””””””””””
They go together. My son went through it. You take some massive hard chemo and then you get gobs of IV’s to flush it through.
When your legs get full it can turn into scrotal edema. Pretty nasty stuff.
Every other week my son would walk into the hospital but need to be wheeled out five days later.
What Rush is going through is some pretty tough stuff.
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03915951
So it's on the the clinical trial of a target ttreatment.
Prayers for Rush.
The goal of chemotherapy is to give the patient enough drugs to kill the cancer without killing the patient. Most of the time that is a very fine line.
Interesting that he has a gene mutation that makes him susceptible to lung cancer. That explains a lot.
Thanks
I call on our Master often...
I’ve asked, that his Nail Scared Hand, reach out and touch our Rush Limbaugh, we need the strength and knowledge this man shares with all of us...we need him to recover and be made whole again...I know he hears us...BELIEVE AND TRUST..GOD’S WILL BE DONE...
Our Lord, made the blind to see, the deaf to Hear, and the lame to walk..He is the master healer in Heaven and on Earth...be patient, he is working for EVERYONE...
HAVE A BLESSED WEEK END POSTERS...pray for America to heal and pray for our POTUS, HIS FAMILY AND HIS TEAM....
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