The Good Fight

Treatments ended two weeks ago but Mark is still bedridden most of the time. The radiation treatments he received were much stronger, concentrated, and more frequent than others you may have heard about and therefore, he has third degree burns and open wounds on the front and back and under his arm. It is EXTREMELY painful. He almost ended up back in the hospital today but eventually saw a wound specialist that helped a lot. Between these skin issues and recovering from the rigorous schedule of chemo and radiation treatments, he has no energy and is in no better shape than he was a month ago. But, who would have any motivation with the amount of pain medications he takes?! We apply a strong presciption of cream, he takes many powerful pain medications and many other meds to counteract the side effects of the pain medications. They say it may be another 4-6 weeks before the skin heals.
The tumor is definitely smaller and less painful. We will have more information on where the
cancer may have spread after we get the PET scan on his birthday, November 8 and the results by the week of the 13th. I will update the blog at that time. The doctors fully expect there will be cancer elsewhere and there will be more chemo but perhaps not until after the holidays so Mark can have a period to heal and gain some strength.
As always, thanks for your prayers, positive vibes and caring e-mails. Thanks especially to the staff at RHCI for the gorgeous flowers and also to Sandy and Chuck Robinson for the edible arrangement. We have never seen anything so clever and enjoyed it immensely!!