How can I help my husband face the possibility he may not survive?

Creon has financial support that you can apply for to cover the cost of the pills. I am in the process of getting mine for $0. It would have been $1300 per month after my deductible. Go to the website Abbvie and apply. It is definitely worth a try.

My heart and prayers are with you both.

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Here is the direct link to Abbvie’s patient support for obtaining Creon. The Abbvie Foundation provides discount coupons for those with private health insurance to obtain Creon for a co-pay of $5.00. If you have Medicare or Medicaid coverage, Creon is provided free of charge. For those on Medicare, qualifying for the financial,assistance program is based on a tiered household income level.

The wording on the website can be a bit confusing as to qualification so I strongly suggest speaking to an Abbvie patient representative is you are on Medicare. Call this number 800.222.6885 and follow the prompts. The application process requires providing evidence of your income and takes approximately four weeks to receive an answer.

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Creon has financial support that you can apply for to cover the cost of the pills. I am in the process of getting mine for $0. It would have been $1300 per month after my deductible. Go to the website Abbvie and apply. It is definitely worth a try.

My heart and prayers are with you both.

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Unfortunately, we have too much income to qualify for assistance programs and too little to pay the ridiculous cost. Instead we’re focusing on foods, beverages, and supplements that are rich in digestive enzymes.

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Creon is also available through Canadian pharmacy mail order if you are interested in going that route. My wife's commercial insurance has covered the Creon after we reached out of pocket maximum so we haven't used the Abbvie program or mail order. Next year, my wife will be forced to switch from commercial to Medicare and then we will use the mail order.

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My observation has been that people tend to rely on their religious beliefs or a rational acceptance of mortality. I'm an agnostic and can't help on the religious front, but I will make a suggestion on the rational front that I've used to explain to others how I'm dealing with my diagnosis and prognosis.

We are all mortal, and we are all dying in the sense that as we age, we get closer to our end. This was true for me and other cancer patients before our diagnosis and continues to be true today. If, for example, we cancer patients were cured of our disease today, tomorrow we would again face other ends that anyone may encounter: traumatic accidents, sudden cardiac arrest, other diseases, etc. There is no way around our mortality.

So, the main difference between facing a poor prognosis now rather than later is that we likely have a shorter amount of time to enjoy what we can, make amends, and such. I hedge with "likely" because there is no way to reliably predict the future. Some different therapy may work better for us, or some new and reliably effective therapy may appear tomorrow that would postpone our inevitable end.

In the words of novelist, Jack London, "The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.”

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I love your perspective on life and death and I agree. One of my nephews died instantly in a car accident at age 24. The 3 closest friends I’ve ever had have all died from various types of cancer. One of them was the primary caregiver for her parents who were well into their 90s at the time and lived several more years after my friend died. I’ve learned from these experiences not only why we need to live each day as if it could be our last, but also that it’s possible to face death with grace, courage, and dignity.
Since my original post here, my husband has had 3 chemo treatments that really knocked him down because he was already very sick before starting. Now he is talking more about quality of life and plans to begin a much less aggressive chemo regimen next week.
He still doesn’t talk much about his own mortality, but I think he is reflecting on it more than before. I really appreciate having a forum like this to share what’s on my heart and mind with people who truly understand.
You are brave, wise, and very generous. Thank you.

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For what it's worth, I've written a book about my experiences and insights (so far). Part explanation and part meditation, my hope is that the book may help the newly diagnosed patient and families get a perspective about what to expect and perhaps how to deal with the life and death issues. I expect to have both a Kindle and paperback version on Amazon by the end of this month. Best to you and your husband.

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Thank you. We are checking into Canadian companies. Does your wife find it very effective? My husband’s oncologist is willing to prescribe it, but he doesn’t believe it helps much or is worth the cost. When we saw a nurse practioner while at Mayo, she said he should absolutely be taking it.

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My wife isn't a good barometer for judging the effectiveness of digestive drugs. She only has 40% of her pancreas, no spleen and no gall bladder. Her digestive system has been destroyed by 3 years of chemo. Many people report that Creon helps them. Many actually say that they can eat quite well. The problem with Creon is dosing. The doctors really have no idea how to prescribe Creon. My wife has prescriptions for the 12000, 24000 and 36000 sizes and uses whichever she guesses is the right amount for the volume of food and the fat content. It's been all trial and error. For a full meal, usually 3 x 36000 with 1 taken before first bite, 2nd after a few forks and the third closer to finished. The smaller doses are used for snacks. Good luck.

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