Surgery Complete

hi friends,

this is Caroline and just wanted to let you know that Marc's surgery is complete and he is recovering well. it went as well as possible and Marc got cancer-free margins! the pathology report will be back in a few days but we are so grateful for the good news we have received. Thank you for all of your love and support!

Good News

I received good news during my visit with the surgeon last week. The initial treatments worked and it is believed my tumor is now gone. I will still have surgery which has been scheduled for June 1. I'll update again before surgery.

CT Scan Tomorrow

Tomorrow I will be at UAB for a follow up CT scan to determine how my initial treatments went. We will also discuss my surgery. It is my hope that the initial treatments completely destroyed the tumor and that it can no longer be seen on the scan. Please pray that the tumor is gone and that the cancer has completely responded to the radiation and chemotherapy. I will post tomorrow to let you know what we find out.

Finished With Initial Treatment

Today was my last day of my radiation therapy and my initial round of chemo. I will now have a follow up CT scan in a month before meeting with my team of doctors to prepare for the next phase of treatment. I will be resting up over the next few weeks in preparation for surgery.

Thanks again to all of you for your prayers and kind words. I've enjoyed receiving your encouraging cards, text messages, and e-mails. I hope to visit with all of you soon.

Almost Half Way

Tomorrow will be my fourteenth day of treatment out of twenty-eight. Starting to get sore and continue to be tired. The first half of my initial treatments have gone well. Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers.

Visit To ER On Saturday

As I start my second week of treatment, I wanted to let everyone know how I am doing. Still tired but in good spirits. I did have to visit the emergency room at UAB Saturday night after I suddenly began bleeding pretty heavily. They admitted me for observation. The bleeding eventually stopped and I was released yesterday at noon. They were not sure what caused it, and because it stopped no tests were performed to determine its cause. I'm back to normal today and my treatments are continuing.

Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers. Caroline and I are blessed to have such great friends and family.

First Days of Treatment

I am about to head into my fourth radiation treament. I have been taking Xeloda (oral form of chemotherapy) twice a day since Monday, with radiation each afternoon. The chemo and radiation are making me pretty tired each day.

I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for the support they have shown Caroline and I during this difficult time. Your kind words of encouragment and prayers have made it easier for us in preparing for the months of treatment we are facing. It is my intention to provide updates on this blog as often as I can so that everyone will know how I am doing, but please feel free to continue to call, e-mail, or write at anytime. We miss all of you and look forward to the day when I am cancer free and our lives are back to normal (hopefully by Thanksgiving!).