Happy New Year!

As we say goodbye to 2009, we want to thank all of our family and friends for their support and love this year. It's been a tough one and we couldn't have done it without all of you. Thank you for the prayers and encouragement along the way. You are all much appreciated!

Happy New Year! May God bless you and keep you all in 2010!

With love and gratitude....

The Griffiths

P.S. No chemo this week! Marc gets a break to start getting ready for surgery. We are hoping chemo is done and in the past. We are praying that we will enjoy a cancer free 2010! We'll keep you posted on our progress....We anticipate a very busy January and February.

Pseudomyxoma Peritonei

I apologize for not updating here last night. I had many reports from friends that said they checked back repeatedly for updates last night. I am so sorry. Yesterday was an incredibly full day at the doctor's office and clinic. We got out quite late and then headed to the kids' school for Julia's Christmas program. It was a very full day and my mind was numb by the time we got home. I just ran out of steam! Anyhow....

Pseudomyxoma Peritonei. Big words. Rare cancer. After almost two rounds of chemo and ten months, the doctors believe they have a refined diagnosis. Pseudomyxoma Peritonei (PMP) is a rare, slow growing cancer, that usually originates from the appendix. It typically does not spread through the lymph system and is treated most successfully with major surgery. So...we met with the surgeon and we are going forward carefully with preparations for surgery. The surgeon at OHSU is willing to operate; however, he is wanting us to consult with a group in Washington D.C. that does these procedures on a regular basis. We are gathering our wits and our records and will be taking the first steps in what will hopefully make Marc cancer free.

We are cautiously optimistic at this point that we have a diagnosis that makes sense. We have run this race so long now and are wary of getting too excited (or upset) by any news we receive. Allowing all this information to soak in has been tough. We have prayed so hard that he could be cured of this. All the information until now has indicated that would take a miracle. I'll go with that and accept this news as such. People can actually survive this stuff and go on to live normal lives. If what they suspect is true, Marc has a good chance of beating this.

With that being said, the surgery is MAJOR. The operation can take all day. He will be in ICU and on a respirator for several days. It will take him, if all goes well, a month to recover from the surgery and even then there are risks of infection and complications. Fortunately, he remains strong and healthy and will hopefully be able to tolerate it relatively well.

Right now we are making initial plans for all of this to take place. While the doctor in D.C. is looking at his file, we will also be going forward with the doctors here. His last chemotherapy treatment of this round will be in two weeks. He then gets January off to recover and distract himself with work. He has a CT scan scheduled and possibly a laparoscopy. The laparoscopy would be done to assess the tumor in case we can't be treated in D.C. The surgeon here would like a look around to get an idea of what the surgery will entail.

As we are taking these initial steps, we would appreciate your continued prayers. There are lots of details to work out, tests to complete, and information to gather. We need to make wise choices and ask hard questions. If you have time in the next few weeks, would you pray for us? Here are some of the major concerns:

• This new diagnosis is correct
• The tumor is operable. His CT scan is the first week in January. We hope it remains unchanged.
• We are able to have the surgery with this group in Washington D.C. We are hoping they find him a good candidate and accept him.
• Our insurance will cover this surgery -- here or in D.C.
• The logistics work out. We have a lot to organize if we are to be gone from here for a month or more.
• Ultimately, if Marc is able to have the surgery, we pray that it is a huge success and not a difficult recovery.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support. I hope you are as encouraged as I am by all that God has done for us. Please drop us a line if you would like more information. If you are curious about his diagnosis you can find information on Wikipedia -- just type in Psedomyxoma Peritonei. It's pretty amazing.

With love and gratitude....

Thanksgiving Memories...

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

Psalm 136:1

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving together with family and friends. We made some really great memories and had a lot of laughs. Highlights were Marc's sister, Jenni, and her family making the long haul from California to be with us. We loved the chaos of six more people in the house. Great times cooking together, eating, and catching up. We also enjoyed the company of several friends -- Ruth & Steve, Diane, and Tony. Thanks for being part of our day! Then there was our local family. I LOVE tradition, so it's always a blessing to be able to stop what we are doing and really enjoy being together. Even though we see each other often, the holidays give us a reason to do nothing but just visit and enjoy a yummy meal. We have so much to be thankful for this year, but many of our biggest blessings were sitting around our table last week.

So here are some pictures from our cozy and crazy day!

THANKSGIVING...GRIFFITH STYLE

Enlist the help of willing workers.
Stuff the turkey....

Massage it well...

Take one mother....


Add another...

Add some sugar...

...and a few hugs.

Thanksgiving!
It's about sweethearts...

Enjoying big brothers...

and little brothers.

Aunties that spoil us...

...and uncles, too.

It's deep conversations...

and laughing hard...

... then spreading the joy!

When the day is done and all have departed....

Clean it all up in style!

We hope you all enjoyed your own special day this Thanksgiving. Thank you for supporting us and praying for us!

With love and gratitude...

Doing Well...

Sorry I haven't been back to this place for a few weeks. Thanksgiving was a wonderful, but busy time for us. We enjoyed good family and friends...and an extra week away from the chemo clinic. It was great! More on that later...

Marc had his 7th chemo treatment up at OHSU today. We met with the nurse practitioner first. Nothing new to report -- he remains very stable. The day was very uneventful. We are anxious to meet with the surgeon on the 16th and find out what we will be doing next. We are holding our breath for good news!

We are excited around here. The kids will be getting their swine flu and seasonal flu boosters tonight. I was also able to get a swine flu shot yesterday. This is a huge praise! While it doesn't protect us from every little bug, it certainly helps to reduce the risk of bringing home two viruses that could hurt Marc. We have been staying away from a lot of our regular activities, trying to avoid the flu. We feel a bit more confident about getting out and about now that we are vaccinated. Given that it's the Christmas season, we would really like to participate in all the parties and gatherings.

Thanks again for the prayers and encouragement. We rely heavily on it! I am hoping to post some pictures from Thanksgiving. We had a really wonderful week! We had, and continue to have, so much to be thankful for!

With love and gratitude...

Initial Tumor Board Results

Marc heard back today from his doctor's nurse. Seems like we get some good news to celebrate over Thanksgiving! First, his tumor marker has dropped 100 points since he started this new treatment. This was the first test the doctor has done since we started at OHSU. They don't seem as focused on the tumor markers at this clinic, but it's nice knowing that all tests indicate we are going in the right direction.

Second, they are referring Marc back to the surgeon! She didn't relay exactly what was discussed or determined in the meeting, but obviously it was enough to warrant a meeting with the surgeon again. We will be scheduling that soon and will let you all know what he recommends.

Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement. I know many of you have been checking back here for updates. We have become accustomed to how slow this process is, but for those of you that aren't veterans of the oncology world we know the waiting is tough :) Thanks for being faithful and patient!

On another note, we would ask that your pray for Jessica's niece. This sweet girl is battling leukemia and could really use our prayers. Apparently there is some concern about the health of the bones in her feet. The treatment she is taking is causing some concerning side effects. We have learned personally that sometimes the side effects of the treatment are as hard and as complicated as the disease itself. So, while we are giving praise to God for encouraging news in our cancer camp, we would be grateful if you could remember this young lady and pray hard for the health of her bones. She has an appointment on Friday. Let's all pray for happy news!

With love and gratitude....

Tumor Board

We had a big day today. Marc met with his doctor this morning and we were very encouraged. His doctor has asked to present Marc's case to the OHSU tumor board tomorrow morning. His objective is to determine if we should reconsider surgery as an option for Marc's tumor. Remember, a few weeks ago we were disappointed that neither the surgical oncologist or the medical oncologist thought it wise to operate. So, we were rather surprised when he suggested that it may still be an option. His thinking is that his cancer isn't growing and it isn't spreading. Oddly enough, his cancer doesn't behave as they would expect it to behave. His thinking is that we can go in and debulk the tumor, giving Marc a huge break from chemo. Needless to say, this appeals very much to Marc. The idea of "resetting the clock" as the doctor put it, seems much better than endless chemo treatments. We are hopeful again that we might be able to have surgery.

We would appreciate your prayers as the board meets tomorrow. Please pray for direction and wisdom as the doctors brainstorm and debate his case. We want to do whatever is best for Marc's overall health.

We would appreciate prayers on a few other fronts, too. Marc's side effects are cumulative with his chemo. Each round gets tougher and this one seems like it is going to be difficult. We would be grateful if you would pray that his nausea and fatigue are minimal. Also, Swine Flu is everywhere around us. Our kids are some of the last standing in their classes. Please pray that the kids don't bring this crud home. I worry not just for them, but for Marc being immune compromised.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. We were greatly encouraged today and count it a tremendous blessing! On a good note, Marc was able to postpone his next treatment for an extra week. He gets three weeks off and will be able to enjoy Thanksgiving with family and friends! We are really looking forward to it. We have much for which to be thankful!

With love and gratitude.....

The Gift of Laughter

This has not been the best week. From appliances breaking, swine flu worries, property taxes, chemo week, to a myriad of other inconveniences, we have had our fill of stress. The result has been one very crabby, negative me. Add to that my kids that seem to have boycotted obedience and cooperation (not relative at all to the crabby mom), and my patience and smiles have all but evaporated. By yesterday my mood was spiraling into the pit -- I was done. I just wanted to crawl back into bed and pull the covers over my grumpy self. No such luck. We had work to do and it was Halloween. Unfortunately, both required my participation. My complete burn out would have to wait.

We spent the morning cleaning out the garden. I had let it go long enough. Everything was rotting and needed to be moved to the compost pile. I enlisted the family and they were good sports. We muddled through despite the pouring down rain. Getting it finished lifted my spirits a bit. The mess in the garden had been a monkey on my back for weeks. I was grateful for the help and a job well done. I even found myself cracking a few smiles as I watched the kids having a mud fight and lobbing rotten tomatoes. It was short lived, though. Mud fights in the rain result in heaps of laundry. Laundry requires a washing machine. Mine decided this weekend was a good weekend to stop working. Grrr.

My grubby helpers

By afternoon I was quite the sourpuss. The idea of loading up the kids to go trick-or-treating did not appeal. There was no getting out of it, though. So we loaded Swamp Monster, Ninja Dude, Supergirl, and the Fairy, into the minivan and trekked to Ryan and Jess's. My goal was to survive the evening without completely losing patience with my kids. Despite my foul mood, I really didn't want to be the party pooper. They were excited and I had zero desire to ruin the evening for them.

One thing about Jess is that she is fun. I have always loved her spontaneity and ability to lighten things up. Add her hubby, Ryan, and it's impossible not to have some real laughs. We hadn't been at their house for ten minutes when I could feel the heaviness of the week starting to subside. I found myself enjoying myself and my mood shifting. By the time Matt and Amy arrived, I was actually having fun. We had a great time with the kids. It was crazy....six adults and twelve kids. We traipsed through the neighborhood until the pumpkins were loaded. By the end the little ones couldn't lift their candy buckets and had to be carried home. Good memories for them, great candy selection for Dad and Mom!

Dads make the best sherpas

We headed back to the house and the kids settled into a movie and obligatory candy sampling. Ryan and Jess broke out the entertainment. First, we got to watch Jess walk on Ryan's back. All that walking really took it out of him, I guess. I won't likely forget that image very soon. Still makes me laugh out loud thinking about it. Then they busted out Cranium. Highlights of the game were watching Matt do an impression of Tsa Tsa Gabor, Ryan acting out the word "rodeo" in front of their picture window (we had no trick-or-treaters after that), and the piece de resistance....Jess trying to hum the soundtrack to Star Wars. From the two notes she was able to utter we couldn't really figure it out. We weren't sure if she was trying to hum something or clearing a large ball of phlegm from her throat. We lost that round.

I don't know if Ryan felt better after this, or not...

At midnight we packed up our sticky, tired kids and headed for home. There was no fighting or grumps on the ride home. Everyone had their fill of fun and seemed content. As for me, I woke up on a much better side of the bed this morning. Amazing what a few good laughs will do for the soul.

In this season that we find ourselves in, it's easy to forget to laugh. It's easy to succumb to the negative, dark, and sad thoughts. When I focus too long on what is wrong, I lose sight of all God has given me that is right. Before I know it, joy is gone, laughter missing, and eventually hope is scarce. I find it a huge battle to keep laughter and joy in our hearts and in our home. Sometimes I can't drag myself up on my own and I need others to remind me of what is really important. Thanks Ryan and Jess! Thanks Matt and Amy! We are grateful for the fun and laughter last night. I for one needed it :)

Awwww....

More fun smiles! Thanks, guys!

With love and much gratitude...