Lung Cancer Update

As you know, Mark has been diagnosed with lung cancer. The only tumor that doctors have been able to confirm is located in the upper lobe of his left lung. Today, he met with the surgeon and found out what they have in mind to deal with the cancer. It ain't purty!

In order to ensure complete removal of the cancer, they are going to remove the entire upper half of his left lung. He will be in ICU for about 10 days and then can expect to spend at least 3 months recovering from the surgery. But, because they are taking so much of the lung, there will be no chemo or radiation following the surgery.

On the good news front, the surgeon said that Mark is a good candidate for surgery, because his lungs do sound good and all of his breathing tests showed strong lung function. In addition, the cancer that Mark has - bronchoalveolar carcinoma - is supposed to be slow growing and tend NOT to spread. Tomorrow morning, the doctors are doing a CT scan, just to make certain that, in fact, the cancer hasn't spread. If all goes well, Mark will have surgery on September 15th. However, if they find additional lesions, he won't have surgery and will have to have chemo and radiation, in hopes of killing the cancer.

So, please keep Mark in your thoughts and prayers. God has gotten him through a lot. Let's just hope for another miracle, shall we?

Don't forget to visit JMark Afghans and My Gallery at Zazzle

We also have a page on Squidoo that supports the Genocide Intervention Network.


We look forward to seeing you online.

God Bless!

Jules