surgeon picked

After visiting with a few surgeons Mark (and the family) have decided to have the surgery done at the University of Washington in Seattle. No surgery date set yet, we're anticipating middle to end of January. Mark will travel over to Seattle one more time before the surgery for a pre-surgery consultation and a consultation with a urology specialist.

We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas season!

This just in.....

Here are most of the updates from the most recent Dr. visits:

Mark needs rotor cuff surgery on his right shoulder. He popped a tendon in his bicep muscle last week just plugging in the vacuum. They told him it would eventually heal, and they could reattach it when they do the surgery. For now his upper arm is an interesting shade of violet.

He visited with the oncology Dr. and everything seems to be going well. His body is healing from the radiation and chemo and they're preparing him for the surgery. Wednesday or Thursday Mark should be able to pick the surgeon and get the surgery date scheduled.

Good news from the urologist, and the catheter is out.

More good news from the lung specialist. The Dr. thinks it's a great idea to get Mark off the steroid drug in preparation for the surgery (the drug can inhibit healing, and they were hoping the condition of his lungs allowed for him to stop the steroid for awhile). So Mark will go down in dosage for 7-10 days, and then stop taking it. He'll also be able to stop taking his antibiotic and prilosec once he stops the steroid pill (since those two were prescribed to help with side effects of the steroid). The Dr. said his lungs looked and sounded great and there is a small chance that he may not need to go back on the steroid again. But they're re-evaluate once the surgery is done.

Coming up....

Next week might get a little busy, although we've all been enjoying not traveling to radiation every day, especially Mark.

Monday Mark has check ups with the urologist, the oncologist, and the specialist that has helped him with his lungs. He's going to see the lung specialist about reducing one of his medications (it might interfere with the healing process when he has his surgery).

Tuesday he's going to the orthopedic Dr. to talk about his shoulder.

Then Wednesday he'll be off to Seattle to talk with a surgeon recommended by a friend for the tumor removal. Hopefully by the end of next week we'll be able to post a date for the surgery.

Some good news!

Today was Mark's last day of radiation. YAY! When he left they gave him this:

Then he went to have his labs done, and they 'unplugged' his port cath that dosed him with the chemo. So his chemo therapy is done for now too.

Unfortunately, the day wasn't over yet. He also visited the urologist (not removing the catheter yet, maybe in 2 weeks). Then a quick (super quick) check in with the oncologist. He doesn't need to see him again until the 13th or 14th of December. The last appointment of the day was a surgery consultation with Dr. Luewen (not sure about the spelling there). Mark was so tired and so worn out, but we got more good news. The tumor has shrunk thanks to the 5 weeks of chemo and radiation therapy!! The surgeon was very positive and certain that he'd be able to resection the colon and that Mark wouldn't have to have a colostomy bag (this wasn't a certainty at the beginning). We also learned that all the lymph nodes in the affected area will be removed and then tested for cancer cells. His hospital stay will probably be about 5 days long.

Mark is still in the process of setting a consultation with a surgeon in Seattle (2nd opinion). It's not decided yet if he'll have surgery in Wenatchee or at the University of Washington Hospital.

Jenna, Papa, and Payton, with Papa's new blanket. Payton picked the Camo, Jenna picked the fuzzy red, and Lisa sewed it together.

Lydia, Papa, Carter, and Jeromy. Kids were picking out the pumpkins for halloween. Lydia wanted a big one and Carter had to have the baby pumpkin in Jeromy's hand.

Back from the doc

So the urologist thinks that Mark probably passed his kidney stones last week (last Friday to be exact). Unfortunately, that didn't solve any problems. The best explanation is that the radiation therapy is really making Mark's prostate and bladder mad. They're irritated and not functioning properly. So the choices were to learn to self cath or to have the Dr. insert a catheter so Mark would be able to void his bladder. He came away with a catheter from the Dr. today, and he only has to have it for 10 days. He'll have it removed on the 29th. The long term solution (which he will need eventually) will to have a prostate surgery. That's down the road somewhere. The healthcare community can relax about job security since Mark will be employing them all for some time to come. :)

Only 5 more days of radiation, and 10 more days of chemo.

Appointment changes

After Mark got home Thursday (the 18th of November) the Urology Dr. called him and told him that he had talked with the nurse a little more and they decided it was probably a good idea to do the procedure now instead of the middle of December. So after radiation today he'll go to the urologist again. Hopefully after this procedure we'll have some answers and Mark will have some relief. Aaron was able to go with him yesterday to his appointments and his son-in-law Brad is taking him today. We've been so blessed to have so many friends and family around to help out. Thank you to ALL who have offered to drive him and who have taken the time out of their day to take him to Wenatchee.

No definate answers yet...

After radiation today and a trip to the urologist we still don't have any definite answers. The Dr. thinks that it may be kidney stones in the bladder affecting everything, but doesn't want to do any procedures to fix the problem until after Marks chemo and radiation are done. So his next trip there is scheduled for December 13.

Next week Mark also has a check up with an orthopedic Dr. to talk about his arm (muscles) to see if he needs another cortisone shot, and to see how he's doing.

We should also get to talk with the oncology Dr. on Monday and find out the answers to a few things (how often Mark needs to see him after radiation and chemo are done, for example, and set up some appointments to talk with some surgeons about the surgery to remove the tumor).

more bad news

Mark met with the radiology doctor today after his radiation treatment. They thought he might have a urinary tract infection so they took a urine sample and sent it to the lab. This afternoon they called with the results and they don't think urinary tract infection, they now think it's kidney stones! Yuck!!!! If it's not one thing it's four. They told him to definitely keep his appointment with the urologist on Thursday.

Lots of updates

Friday was just awful. The good part was that Mark's brother and sister (Gary and Susan) came up from Texas to visit. Then they and his aunt and uncle (Dixie and Lyle) took him to his doctor appointments on Friday. But it seems that Mark has developed bronchitis. They had to stop his radiation treatment and reposition him 3 or 4 times because he was coughing so hard. After they appointment he saw the dr. and then went and got a lung x-ray. That's when they diagnosed bronchitis. Then there was a huge run around getting his prescriptions filled. Wenatchee didn't have the drugs the dr. prescribed, so they drove to Ephrata. Then they didn't have the right drugs either. So that meant a drive back to Wenatchee to get a hard copy RX from the dr. (it's a narcotic and the pharmacy has to have a hard copy from the dr. to fill it). A LOT of driving and a LOT of time.

Mark had a hard weekend (a lot of coughing and discomfort), but the cough and pain medications seem to be doing their job and finally kicking in. Only 9 more days of radiation left (which is at least 9 days too many according to Mark). He has an appointment with an urology specialist on Thursday since there has been some bladder and prostate issues that haven't gone away.

We are so very grateful for all the help from friends and family! Thank you to all who have kept Mark in your thoughts and prayers!

Week 3

We're at the beginning of week 3 of chemo and radiation therapy. Mark is still so blessed to not have any major side effects at this point. He's slowed down quite a bit and needs to get his naps in, but that's probably the only major change. Once radiation treatments are done he'll be scheduling several different consultations with different surgeons to discuss the upcoming surgery.
Thank you so much for all your help, prayers, and well wishes!

starting to slow down...

Everything is starting to 'catch up' and 'take affect' on Mark now. He's more tired than he has been, has started to feel sick to his stomach and is vomiting. Thank goodness for anti-neasuea pills.

First week done.

The first week of chemo and first 5 radiation treatments are done. Only 20 more radiation appointments and 4 more weeks of chemo.

The Dr. thought Mark was doing pretty good and not having many side effect symptoms. He did catch a cold this week, but the Dr. gave him the ok to take over the counter meds to help with the coughing, sore throat and stuffy nose.

Marks been more tired than normal, but has still been up and around doing things around the house and yard, getting ready for winter.

Chemo and radiation therapy

Monday was Marks first chemo and radiation therapy appointments. All went well. Feeling pretty good today, only a little tired, but was still able to get some yard work done. Today he'll be back in Wenatchee for radiation at 4:15. Two down, twenty-three left to go. Mondays he'll also have a some blood drawn, chemo thearpy port checked, and a visit with the oncologist. Here are what he has scheduled as far as radiation treatments as of now:
10/27 - 3:15
10/28 - 3:00
10/29 - 9:15
11/1 - 9:45
11/2 - 9:45
11/3 - 9:30
11/4 - 9:30
11/5 - 9:30
11/8 - 9:30
11/9 - 9:30
11/10 - 9:30
11/11 - 9:30
11/12 - 9:30
11/15 - 9:30
11/16 - 9:30
11/17 - 9:30
11/18 - 9:30
11/19 - 9:30
11/22 - 9:30
11/23 - 9:30
11/24 - 9:30
11/25 - no treatment, THANKSGIVING
11/26 - 9:30
11/29 - 9:30 LAST RADIATION TREATMENT

That's 5 weeks of treatments. We were originally told 6 weeks, but they've only scheduled 5. I think they'll assess how everything is going and what the results are at the end of November and decide if another week of radiation is necessary.

post-op

Everything went smoothly and well with the port/cath surgery this morning. Marks home and resting. Only a little sore and stiff in his left shoulder (the port/cath was put in his left chest) and a little tired.

A few changes

Turns out there's a scheduling problem with radiology and we can't start radiation treatment on November 1st, so everything has moved up.

On Tuesday the 19th, Mark will get another CT scan to plan and map out the radiation route. Wednesday the 20th will be the port cath. surgery (out patient), and back to radiation on Friday to make sure the plan/path they've mapped out will work and to make any last minute tweaks.

Monday, October 25th will be the official start date of the chemo and radiation therapy.

What we know now

Mark has stage 2 colon cancer with a 3T tumor. Chemo and radiation therapy will begin on November 1st. He'll have a port/catheter surgically implanted in his chest sometime during the last week of October (the port cath is necessary for the Chemo therapy, it'll be a 24/7 drip that he'll be attached to via a small portable pump that can be strapped on like a fanny pack). Hopefully we'll know the actually surgery date soon. He'll also need at least one more CT scan to help pinpoint the exact measurements they need for the radiation therapy.

The Chemo therapy they're going to use (FU-5 is what it's called if I remember correctly) shouldn't cause hair loss or have very many extreme side effects. He'll have radiation therapy 5 days a week (Monday thru Friday), and a chemo check up and blood drawn once a week for 6 weeks. Then a period of rest/recovery for 3-4 weeks with no chemo or radiation and then the surgery to remove the tumor. (So some time the beginning of 2011). After surgery he'll have 3-4 weeks of recovery time again and restart a different regime of chemo therapy for 6 more months.

So that's the plan so far. Things feel a little less 'up in the air' and better now that there seems to be a definate plan of attack. Keep the prayers coming, they help keep us strong.

Upcoming....

Ultrasound showed that the tumor was about 2 inches by 1 inch. Good news was that all lymph nodes, organs and other parts of the body were tumor free. They classified it as T3.
Appointment on Friday October 15th, in Wenatchee. Meeting with the oncologist to discuss findings of Wednesdays ultrasound and to do chemo therapy 'training'.
Appointment set with the surgeon on October 25th to discuss pre-op for the chest catheter/shunt for the chemo therapy.

Papa Party

Papa Party!

We all got together and had a thanksgiving dinner and counted our blessings. Right now we have eight.

 Eight silly faces, that is.

The dreaded 'C' Word

Monday, October 4th, 2010  was the day we first heard that Mark has colon cancer. It's been a whirlwind of doctor appointments, phone calls and driving. Already we've had so many phone calls, notes, hugs and words of encouragement. We appreciate it so much and we are grateful to be the recepient of all of your prayers. Stay tuned for updates on all the doctor appointments and findings as we travel this road together.