EG McMillan

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We (the McMillan and McCracken kids) are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. Thank you for loving EG and Carmen. We appreciate your prayers, support, and words of hope and encouragement more than we can express. 

EG was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2019.  Since that time he has been quite healthy and active, walking every day, sometimes even 10 miles in 1 day!  He has had several treatments and did well with little to no side effects until this April. He had a scan that showed numerous enlarged lymph nodes and spine involvement. He started a new treatment that he was tolerating, but in May he developed a sudden onset of low back pain. The pain progressed and he ended up in the ER 2 times. Imaging showed the tumor on his spine had grown and weakened the bone which led to a compression fracture of a lumbar vertebrae. He was scheduled to have 5 days of radiation on the spinal tumor in hopes to shrink it so they could repair the vertebrae with a procedure called kyphoplasty (injection of 'cement') into the part of the bone that was compressed.  Prior to the radiation, about 2 weeks ago, EG became severely dehydrated due to heat exhaustion and he developed kidney failure and was hospitalized for nearly a week.  During the hospital stay, he and his kidney function returned to 'normal', but pain persisted (some relief with meds). They resumed the plan for radiation and he finished that while in rehab. Then this Wednesday night, he fell during the night. He was taken to the ER and had mild kidney failure and mild sepsis believed to be from a prostate/ urinary tract infection. His kidney function has improved, but his pain has become more severe. The hospitalists, oncologists and palliative care specialists are working hard to stabilize the pain while closely monitoring his kidney function and mental status. The kyphoplasty is not likely an option at this point because EG has become too weak to be able to recover. After researching ALL of our many options, EG and all of us feel the best course is to proceed with hospice. We hope we will be able to have his pain controlled enough that we can have hospice and private care at home.  If he requires intensive pain management he will transfer to in-patient hospice with Faith Presbyterian at the T. Boon Picken's Hospice and Palliative Care Center. 

At this difficult time EG is not receiving visitors. We will let you know if this changes as we know you all love and care for him so much! Thank you in advance for your continued love and prayers. And please forgive us if we are not quick to respond to your communications.