Sepsis from docetaxel

I am so sorry to hear about your loss < 3. Please accept my sincere condolences :(.
I wish I know the answer to your question. Maybe you should try to find answer on some forum that deals with infections and sepsis to find the answer, or ask for a second opinion from some other doctor ? Can your dad's doctor give you some more detailed explanation of what actually happened ? I personally do not know anybody who had sepsis but I guess with chemo an immune system gets weakened significantly and infection can set in easily, especially when body is already struggling with serious illness :(.
I know that nothing I say can lessen your pain and sadness but maybe the fact that he suffered for very short time can be of some comfort : ( ? And the fact that he knew how much he was loved by you and that you were there with him. I wish I was by my father's side when he died.
Sending you hugs < 3

Thank you so much for your kind words, I really appreciate them. I've talked with the infectologist that was called for a consult, and she was very patient with me and really did try to help. She thought the cultures would give us an explanation, but both blood and urine cultures came back as negative. Chest X-ray and abdominal ultrasound also couldn't reveal a place where infection started. It looks like I'll never know how and why this happened...I haven't talked to my father's oncologist because I have a copy of my fathers hospital charts and I see that she was also called for a consult and ordered blood tests but none that would test for infection, just standard CBC, renal and liver tests. And I've heard from patients that a couple of months ago she had a patient on docetaxel who also died from sepsis (he was a bit older-83), so she was aware that infection is a possibility, but clearly unable to recognize it!?
I am so mad at her right now! She told us-if WBC doesn't go down, you have nothing to worry about???!!! And this is a senior, head of the department oncologist??!! I should've taken my father to a vet!

I can completely sympathize since I know how difficult it is to deal not only with grief but additional feelings of helplessness and anger and even some misplaced guilt because we think that "if only we did this or asked for that" or were more insistent in some situations that things wold be different. I lost my father due to medical negligence and it was even done on purpose - he was refused medical care since he was a refugee of "wrong nationality" that escaped to "wrong side" , but I do not want to burden you with that tragedy, I just want you to know that I truly understand your pain since it is still with me.
The fact that doctor already had a patient die during the same kind of treatment is really concerning : (. Can you make some kind of report and send it to some hospital board for evaluation or something like that ? If infection was not discovered even with cultures, maybe it could have been some massive inflammation that happened ? They have to do more tests and give you answers - you have the right to know of what happened to you father 🙁 especially if it will give you even small sense of peace and closure.
Your father was very lucky man to have you as a daughter < 3 and I am sure that he would not wish for you to suffer this much *hugsss. Make some more inquiries in the hospital but try to take care of yourself also 🙁 , I know it is hard at this moment. Try not to think about his last moments but about the whole wonderful life he had and all beautiful moments you spent together. That is how I kept my sanity ...

Omg, I don't know if I'm more saddened or angry about your father's tragic passing, but sadly I can say that I'm not surprised. I always said that an entry exam for any medical school, collage or university should be a personality test, so that we don't end up schooling more doctors like Mengele. What kind of person do you have to be to intentionally harm another human being? I wouldn't let a dog suffer if I saw one injured on the street, and yet there are doctors who don't lose their sleep when they kill their patients, and refusing to help=killing! How did that come to be? Is there a country on this planet where money and connections don't talk the loudest and where these "doctors" would rot in jail for what they've done? Sign me up if there is....

I'm waiting for the other oncologist to come back from holiday (the one that was supposed to oversee the pluvicto treatment) to talk to him. But going against the head of the department will get me nowhere, since you don't get that title by being the best at what you do but because "someone's got your back". Even if I sued no doctor would testify against another doctor, even if they know the other doctor screwed up, that's just how things roll here.

I also plan to wright a lengthy email to the manufacturer of docetaxel and ask them for an explanation. There is a warning of sepsis on the medication package insert, but clearly doctors don't take it seriously. Something has to change. Chemo should kill cancer, not the patient!

Thank you again for all your kind words. Your family and friend are very lucky to have you! BIG HUG!

I am so sorry to read this and learn of your loss, the grief, and anger from feeling like you don’t know what what wrong. You must feel helpless and I hope you are not going through this alone.

Do you know if he was given the booster Neulasta to help build those infection fighting white blood cells? Were his blood counts severely impacted after the first round? So many have this treatment and it’s heartbreaking to hear your story. I hope you can get to some good discussions to help explain what things may have contributed so you have a better understanding. That will not help the huge loss you’ve experienced, but perhaps, you may learn that no harm or error occurred. All the Best to you in your Healing. 🙏🏼❤️‍🩹🙏🏼

Thank you so much! No, he wasn't given any booster since his WBC never dropped below lower limit. He has had 3 blood tests after the first chemo and lowest WBC was 5,5. I did ask the infectologist if he should've gotten them, but she said that there was no reason to since WBC didn't drop. Even a few hours before his death WBC was normal. I wish someone told me that infection can happen with normal WBC, i would've paid for the extra CRP test. Since May he has had 5 blood tests, 3 after first chemo, 1 before first chemo and 1 for zometa and none showed any abnormalities, but none of them included CRP or procalcitonin. Perhaps he had some minor infection that spiraled out of control with chemo... Or the corticosteroids you get with chemo also did something since they suppress the immune system... I really hope someone can give me some answers...
Thank you again and all the best❤️