I am writing with a very heavy heart to report the death of our dear Board Member, Advisory Board Member, Moderator, Participant and my good buddy, Herb Geller PhD G-d Rest His Soul.
The loss of dear Herb z”l is already reverberating around AnCan and will undoubtedly amplify as more learn of his demise. Herb touched many well beyond his Advanced Prostate Cancer ‘Brains Trust’, Moderators, Peers and Participants. The Blood Cancer group got to know him well when he attended regularly on behalf of his brother. The Pancreatic Cancer folks met him when he showed up for his next door neighbor. Our Men Speaking Freely Group loved and respected him for sharing his fears and concerns. Members of our Advisory Board got to interact with Herb as did Medical Academics and others who participated in AnCan’s research projects.
Here are a few of the words I already see bandied around –
“kind, smart, caring, thoughtful”
“My heart is heavy and I’m at a loss for words. There is something I’m feeling that I can’t express sufficiently”
“this is the deepest hurt since we lost Dominic (2015)”
“Thanks to each of you for your loving support of him and all of us for each other.”
Herb passed away from advanced prostate cancer that had evidently morphed into small cell/neuroendocrine like (NEC) disease. A late diagnosis just one day before he entered the NIH, his place of work, identified this. Herb was scheduled to undergo tests for his highly elevated endocrine markers, however the source was now evident on admission. The NIH never appeared to acknowledge or treat him for this diagnosis. It finally added a neuroendocrine oncologist to Herb’s team after 21 days after repeated AnCan prodding from the date of admission. Herb underwent research procedures related to Cushing’s Disease and its symptoms. In due course, AnCan will follow up as appropriate.
Never one to give up the opportunity to sail anything from a small dinghy to an ocean-going yacht, Dr. Herb Geller was a nationally recognized expert in neuro-biology; a profile is available on the NIH site. Herbie loved a a good Scotch, in Skye or anywhere else. On his request, AnCan did its best to sneak in a wee dram just to wet his lip in the final days but the ‘powers that be’ prevented us. I’ll have one for you tonight, Herb! And, we’ll make sure both your AnCan posters get written up for submission with credit to you.
Herb is survived by his wife of 55 years, Nancy, Director of the Office of Biostatistics for the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the NIH. Also his younger brother, Ken, an eminent Supreme Court Advocate kennethsgeller@gmail.com. We wish Herb’s family and many friends, especially his “AnCan Family”, much comfort. May Herb’s memory always be a blessing – it certainly will be here at AnCan.
For our Jewish readers, Herb’s z”l Hebrew name is Chanan Moshe ben Aaron v’Sara; he died on 25th Nisan.
Today’s a BIG DAY if you’re a fan of ordering everything you need from Amazon.
October 11-12th are Amazon Prime Early Access Days, and guess what? If you sign up for Amazon Smile, you can give back to us without having to spend anything extra! It sounds too good to be true, but it absolutely is real.
Amazon will donate .5% of eligible purchases to the organization YOU choose. That could be us…we would be grateful for it, and you would be helping us provide quality peer-to-peer support for all AnCan-ers.
In case you’re new or need a reminder:
We’re a peer-to-peer organization that provides support to many different conditions – Prostate Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, Sarcoidosis, Thyroid Cancer – quite literally just to name a few. We also host many a webinar – all in the name of support for our community and groups. Check out our YouTube page for past recordings.
Hi-Risk/Recurrent/Advanced PCa Video Chat Support – Men & Caregivers Recording, May 03, 2021
Editor’s Pick: An 80 yr old man tolerating docetaxel is an inspiration to all. Later on, practically ,do you stop treatment to allow PSA rise for screening purposes? (rd)
Topics Discussed
80+ yr old man undergoes chemo, but rash stops it; reluctant patient faces recurrence; Grade 4 Radiation Cystitis; more recurrence w. pelvic girdle RT; NGS reveals MSI-H; getting an Axumin scan thru MSKCC; In Memory of Scott Hogan; ARV110 trial fails BRCA2 patient; swollen legs leads to coming off abi; melanoma Dx to add to PCa; continuing Tx vs allowing PSA rise to see source of recurrence; bowel and bladder maintenance during salvage RT
Chat Log \
John Ivory (Private): 5:22 PM: https://www.dignityhealth.org/ourdoctors/1699772210-russell-gollard
Carlos Huerta (to Everyone): 5:25 PM: Extravasation is when a medication gets out of the vein and under your skin.
Jake Hannam (to Everyone): 5:26 PM: Extravasation is the leakage of a fluid out of its container into the surrounding area, especially blood or blood cells from vessels. In the case of inflammation, it refers to the movement of white blood cells from the capillaries to the tissues surrounding them (leukocyte extravasation, also known as diapedesis). Extravasation injury is defined as the damage caused by the efflux of solutions from a vessel into surrounding tissue spaces during intravenous infusion. The damage can extend to involve nerves, tendons, and joints and can continue for months after the initial insult.
Bruce Bocian (to Everyone): 5:37 PM: Try lavender oil
Eileen Murphy (to Everyone): 5:37 PM: How about Sarna lotion with menthol or Aveeno products?
Bruce Bocian (to Everyone): 5:38 PM: I got the lavender oil tip from the essential oil book
Bob McHugh (to Everyone): 5:57 PM: A shrink or social worker for this guy?
Herb Geller (to Organizer(s) Only): 6:03 PM: I just searched his hospital and there are no GU oncologists
William Franklin (to Everyone): 6:27 PM: I don’t want to take up time we can use to talk to you guys so I’ll put my plug in here. If you feel like ANCAN has helped you and you’d like to say something nice about us, please hop over to greatnonprofits.org, search for ANCAN, and make a comment. We would greatly appreciate it.
Rick Davis (to Everyone): 6:31 PM: You can go ot our website and just click on Testimonials too
Bruce Bocian (to Everyone): 6:42 PM: Bill, just posted my review!
Frank Fabish (to Everyone): 7:15 PM: need to sign off. Thank you all.
Carlos Huerta (to Everyone): 7:17 PM: Dont forget the old standard. Castor Oil.
Joe Gallo (to Everyone): 7:20 PM: Senakot is brand of Sena
