October 30

Hello to all. We have heard from Pittsburgh and they have been able to speak with Dr. Farmer. It was decided to go ahead with chemo soon and not waste any more time for now. They suggest at least 3 months and then maybe looking into reversal surgery depending on Mark's response and scans/cancer marker. We will hold the Avastin which is part of the chemo regimen Mark did before, anticipating possible surgery in the future. We will proceed with the other chemo drugs as before. Mark's appointment to get started back on the chemo will be Monday morning. Pray that he tolerates it well. It is certainly hard on his body and is not any fun at all. He was so wiped out before while on chemo.

The kids went Trick-or-Treating tonight in Auburn. They did this a night early because of the High School football game tomorrow night I'm told. They had fun. Calen was a hippie, Colton the Scream character, and Emily was Aerial.

We haven't told the kids yet about starting chemo. We will break it to them this weekend. We didn't want to disrupt any school work, etc. It will be hard on them.

Continue to pray for Mark during this cancer battle. Many of you know Paulo who was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Please pray for him as well. He will be starting chemo soon I am told. God bless!!!!

October 24

Well, we got mixed results from the tests today. Mark's CT/PET scan turned out okay. They did not see any "hot" areas of disease or metastasis. It all looked pretty normal. They see some scarring around the liver probably from the chemo wash after surgery. However, the CEA (cancer marker in the blood) was elevated at 16 (normal is less than 3). There could be microscopic disease that doesn't show up yet or a false positive reading on the CEA number. Dr. Farmer feels it is safe to wait 2 weeks and return for blood work and see what the trend in the CEA is. If it is going up, we have to start back on chemo pretty quickly. If it isn't, we may decide to do exploratory surgery to see what the abdomen looks like and see if there is any cancer showing up that is not seen on the scan.

Dr. Farmer is going to send copies of both the scans and the labs to the Drs. in Pittsburgh to get their opinions as well. We will see what they say.

Pray hard these next few weeks that the CEA number falls drastically and that it is just a false positive lab test. We really need a zero to come back on our next one.

Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive during Mark's cancer battle. We have appreciated all the love and care. God bless!!!!

October 24

Hello everyone. Mark goes in this morning for blood work and a PET/CT scan. We will go see Dr. Farmer this afternoon for an appointment and hopefully get the results of the testing this morning. Pray that it all turns out okay. God bless!!

October 22

Mark will go in this Friday for his CEA lab test. This will tell us if there is any active cancer in the body. We are waiting on Dr. Farmer's office to get the CT authorized with the insurance company, so as soon as that is done we will know when the CT scan will be. Mark is feeling well. We are praying for good news with these next 2 tests so that we can move forward with recovery.

Calen's team finished their season last night in football. They remain undefeated and it was a good season for the boys. Colton's team was also undefeated and now in playoffs. Basketball tryouts start next week. There is just never a break between the sports. Oh well, I guess it keeps them busy.

Continue to keep Mark in your prayers. God bless!!!!

October 20

Mark heard from Pittsburgh today. They were able to speak with Dr. Farmer. It was decided to get another CT scan and a CEA number to see how Mark is doing and to make sure we're not looking at any new disease sneaking into the picture. Once that is over, we will decide the next step. If the scans and cancer marker are normal, we may be able to wait a little longer before chemo and we will certainly have more peace of mind. Now we will wait to hear when the tests will be. Hopefully they can do them this week. There is always so much waiting!!!! I am learning to be very patient, though.

Colton had his last regular season football game tonight and finished the season undefeated. They now will start playoffs and hope to make it to the championship game. Calen's team will have their last game tomorrow and if they win, will also be undefeated. Go DRAKE WILDCATS!!!!!

We will keep updating as we know information. Continue to pray for Mark's body to fight this cancer and for him to remain cancer free. It is a battle he MUST WIN!!!!! God bless!!!!!

October 16....1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Hello everyone. Today is Mark's one year anniversary from his cancer diagnosis. I guess that is reason to celebrate since he is doing so well. It has been a year of ups and downs for sure. We are just glad to have some normalcy back in our lives right now.

Mark heard from Pittsburgh yesterday. They have not been able to speak to Dr. Farmer yet. She was out of the office yesterday, so they will keep trying. It will probably be Friday before they can touch base. We will update when we know something.

Thanks again for all the prayers and support. God bless!!!!!

October 13

Mark heard from Pittsburgh today. They are still a little uncertain about proceding with surgery with the small fistula still present, but seem a little unsure about waiting this long off chemo. They decided to discuss Mark's case with Dr. Farmer here and they should get back to Mark tomorrow on their decision. They really don't like to do chemo with the ileostomy still there since he is at high risk of becoming dehydrated. There was some talk of doing a CT scan to make sure everything still looks okay. We will wait and see what they decide. After all of this down time, we are certainly on edge now about the next step.

The CT scans are definitely a scary test. You pray so hard that all comes out normal and that you can continue on the same path, but know that with each one anything can change. It is always a relief to hear the words negative after one of those scans and we pray hard that we hear them once again.

Mark enjoyed his trip to Dallas and enjoyed the game in the Cotton Bowl. He says it was one of the best games he's been to in quite some time. I know Oklahoma lost, but he actually wasn't nearly as upset as I thought he'd be. I think he just enjoyed getting to see the Crimson and Cream in action first hand. They are an awesome team to watch!!!!

Calen has 2 more football games and then it's on to basketball season. Colton has one more game and then playoffs in football. Their team is undefeated so far. He is really hoping to make it to the championship game as they play it in the High School stadium and get to have announcers and everything. He will also play basketball this year. Emily continues to learn a lot in her ballet and tumbling classes. She cannot wait until her recitals. She talks about her "show" all the time. Unfortunately she thinks she is going to get to talk during this show, so hopefully the teacher can make her understand that she will just dance. It might get interesting. haha

Thanks for all of the support and prayers. Continue to lift Mark up in your prayers. God bless!!!

Oct 7

Hello to everyone. Just a quick update. Mark heard from Pittsburgh today. He just got confirmation that his films had arrived and now they will wait on Dr. Bartlett to look at them and let us know what he thinks. It is a slow process sometimes and we've had to learn patience. Hopefully we'll know something in the next day or two about our next step. We will see.....

Mark has a conference in Dallas this week and has arrived safely there. He will be interviewing candidates and going to meetings. He managed to stay through the weekend and snagged a coveted ticket to the Oklahoma vs Texas game. The kids and I feel a little cheated on that one, but we hope he enjoys the game and Oklahoma comes out with a victory. Meanwhile, we'll be back here in Alabama working and going to school.....(sigh). We will make the Auburn/Arkansas tailgate and game this weekend, so it isn't all that bad. Mark really hates that he will miss one of Calen's football games this Thursday night.

Thanks so much for all the support and prayers. God bless!!!!!