Shred of Hope

We met with Marc's oncologist this morning at OHSU. We were encouraged on many fronts. First, he had had a long conversation with the surgeon in Washington DC. They had discussed the many obstacles to Marc's surgery and came to an agreement for treatment. It felt good knowing that everyone is on the same page and that they agree! We were concerned that they were going to be at odds as to how to proceed and we would have no clear direction going forward.

Basically they have agreed that Marc's cancer is really odd. We have known that for a long time. They were both encouraged that the cancer has not spread to other organs or the lymph system. It is still limited to the peritoneal cavity. That being said, it is still widespread and leaves the surgeon little room to move around. We really need to kill some of this stuff off -- it needs to shrink! Since his cancer is so outside the box, we are in uncharted territory. As a result, Dr. Lopez really wants to be aggressive and throw everything at it. His hope is that we can take it down significantly enough to make him a candidate for surgery.

So, back to chemo clinic we go. He starts the new regimen on Friday morning. They will be treating him with Taxol and Carboplatin. These are drugs typically used for lung, ovarian, breast cancer, etc. Much different than those used for gastrointestinal cancer -- which has been the treatment of choice so far. The side effects will be familiar to Marc -- fatigue, nausea, neuropathy. He's not thrilled, but remains my hero for jumping in that chair again. This time he will lose his hair for certain. Be looking for the new hair-do shortly. I think he wants to shave it this weekend. For those of you wanting gift ideas, think hats! Some cool head gear would make him smile.

As you can imagine this week has been devastating for both of us. We found out that if surgery had been approved he would have gone in tomorrow. We feel so undone by the loss of that opportunity. Both of us are having a hard time even pondering what will happen if this treatment does not work. We just can't go there.

We ask that you continue to pray for Marc's healing. We don't have any assurances that we are on the right track with this new treatment. It's a hunch and we are going for it. We do have hope, though. And right now that says a lot. We need a miracle. I pray every single day for just that.

We will keep you updated in the days to come. We anticipate a subdued weekend. Thank you all for your outpouring of love and support this week. We are grateful for all of you.

With love and gratitude...