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.