Skip to main content

Update on Mark!

Sorry there haven't been any updates in a while! I blame my mom! It's not like she has anything else to do besides write these updates (yeah right). Before I spoil the good news, I just want to personally thank all of you for all of your support. I can honestly say this battle has been one of the most difficult things I've ever been through. I don't know what I would have done without all of you and your continued support. One of the most difficult parts of this struggle was being away from home last March when I first found out and even this fall when I came back to school. When all I wanted to do was be home -and then when I was home and didn't want to be there either ha ha- each of you helped in some way to keep me going (and I know at times it wasn't pretty)! Anyway, I know that many people faced with these situations don't get to give updates like this with such great news and I don't take for granted how lucky my family is! Thanks again for everything! I couldn't have done it without you!

Here's what my mom wrote:

First of all, I would like to apologize for not keeping you all up to date. My excuses are that we were having too much fun on vacation, and when we got back, I was too behind at work! Mark is now classified as a "complete responder" to his long and arduous treatment over the last 8 months. That designation means that there is no evidence of metastatic disease in his body, and that if he has no recurrence in the next year, he will have an even better prognosis. Considering that only three patients out of 100 are total responders, Mark is in a pretty good place right now! The oncologist said that Mark would have probably only lived six months after his
diagnosis last March if he had not responded to the treatment. That six-month survival estimate was agreed upon by the entire "Tumor Board" at the James Hospital, so we cannot take lightly the fact that Mark would have passed away before Christmas without all the help from researchers, doctors and nurses at the James Cancer Center.


WE ARE SO HAPPY and THANKFUL and JOYFUL!!

Love,
Martha

Comments

Anonymous said…
That's the best news ever Emily, absolutly glorious!!! ;)
2/06/2006 4:55 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sandy and the 1000 Paper Cranes: About The Project

I recently joined the group 20 Something Bloggers and stumbled across the blog below where Sandy is creating and releasing 1000 paper cranes with a different inspirational word on each one. She leaves them for others to find and to hopefully spread a bit of positive energy and "world peace" which is what cranes symbolize. She came up with this idea after reading "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" by Elanor Coerr which is a book about a girl from Hiroshima who was diagnosed with cancer and wanted to fold 1000 cranes before she died but unfortunately only made it to 644. I was inspired when reading her blog and thought you might be interested in learning about it too! Sandy and the 1000 Paper Cranes: About The Project : "So why 1000 paper cranes? What started this all? After reading the true story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Elanor Coerr, I was..."
Post a Comment
Read more

Beware of Infections...

When I think of an infection, I think of something that needs a little neosporin and a band aid and then life goes on. When the doctors started talking about Mark's infection as something that is life-threatening, as you can imagine, I was shocked. He has stage IV cancer for god's sake, an infection is the least of his worries, right? Wrong. Turns out it's not uncommon for people going through this treatment to get these infections which can be fatal if it doesn't respond to antibiotics and continues to spread. So, going back to my blog about not worrying because it doesn't get you anywhere and it's a waste of time, yada yada yada - I have done very little of anything else besides worry during the past 36 hours or so. Even during the hour and a half last night watching the movie Amityville Horror I was worrying. Well, I guess I was worrying more about not peeing my pants, but you get the idea. I feel bad for the people around me when I get worried like this. I
6 comments
Read more

First Annual Ugly Sweater Party

Ugly Sweater Party from Emily Robinson on Vimeo . Well, our First Annual Ugly Sweater Party was a huge success! We had SO much fun, as you'll see from the video. I also had so much fun making this video! I got a new flip cam for Christmas so it was fun to actually make a project with the videos! For those who attended the party, you will definitely enjoy all 14 minutes of this video (it is worth every second). I was laughing so hard while I was making it! For those who didn't attend the party, I can see how the video might get old or seem really long. Either way, if you watch it, let me know what you think!
9 comments
Read more