February 27, 2010 - The Week in Numbers

having had the good fortune of speaking to Marc several times this week, i wanted to try something different with this update.  i noticed that a pattern emerged...  a pattern of significant numbers. so i wanted to share the news in a different way, or at least part of the news, but it should be kinda fun.

first, a quick prosaic overview. Marc and mom are doing well, per Marc. it's been a pretty good week in terms of Marc's health and spirits. though Marc is grieving the loss of an old soccer pal who died this week while skiing at squaw valley. Marc is aware that even in the midst of his struggle with cancer, that it is also a grace to be struggling because he is alive. it is strange in such circumstances how sadness and gratitude seem intrinsically linked.

Marc has had two kinds of chemo since he was admitted on february 19th for this round of inpatient chemo. the first was a single treatment which was so potent that it had to clear out of his system for several days to avoid interactions with the other kind of chemo. this second type is four days of 24 straight hours of chemo which will conclude tommorrow.

results from his last bone marrow test showed that he does not have the type (B) of non-hodgkins lymphoma (NHL) that they originally thought. if my comprehension is decent, there are actually many types of NHL which are then grouped into type A and B. when asked if this is good news or bad news, Marc replied that prognosis-wise, he doesn't believe it is either good or bad.  mental-health-wise, however, it's great news as the treatment course will be different and he will have shorter hospital stays (that are somewhat more frequent). his treatment plan will thus be cycles of 2-3 weeks at home followed by a week-ish in the hospital, rinse-and-repeat.  this cycle will continue through july. when asked if they expected he'd be done in time for his birthday, Marc said likely not, more like mid-end july. alas.  

but for Marc it's a simple equation: less time in hospital + more time at home = good. on that note here are some other things that have changes and are more/less of something:

less = the amount of hair on Marc's body (it is slowly submitting to the chemo)
more = the amount of energy/strength in Marc's voice since two weeks ago

less = amount of time spent in room, as much as possible Marc is walking around, hanging out in the solarium and...

more = amount of talking to those around him. he's chatting up and making friends with everyone who returns signs of interest... an effervescent and cheerful hall-mate and patient.

less = amount of pain in body and back since first hospital admittance (note: not pain free by any stretch but noticeably less) 

more = amount of flirting with the nurses (per his mother :)

and here... at last... are the hard numbers

4 = days of 24-hour cycles of chemo

13 = number of bags on Marc's IV cart, for which he won the "award" for greatest quantity

2.5 = number of miles Marc walked today

11 = number of laps around the 11th floor to make a mile
 

1 = number of days until Marc is released until next treatment
2 = weeks at home until next treatment starts

20 = day in March that nephew Elijah turns one and Marc gets to go!
un-quantifiable = the amount of joy this brings to Marc (and surely to Elijah too, and Melissa, and his parents and... the list goes on)

tomorrow afternoon Marc and Stacy will be picked up rom UCSF by Steve, Melissa, and Elijah for two weeks at home in truckee pending tests that are expected to go like clock work. prayers for safe travels home and clean aniseptic environments wherever he goes! thanks for reading.

(post by amber with Marc's consent)

February 20, 2010 - Solarium, Scrabble & Special Visitors

 

these past few days Marc has been passing his time in the solarium on the cancer floor at the UCSF hospital. it's a gorgeous room with a panoramic city view including the ever famous golden gate bridge which is stunning against the sea and the green. besides enjoying the breathtaking beauty of this room, Marc has been sharpening his skills in scrabble, trivial pursuit, and olympic-game-watching.

he had his first chemo since his hospital return on saturday and once that clears from his system he will have four successive days of a different kind of chemo. 

he also had some old friends stopped by from afar (so cal and colorado) for some special visitn' time.  and they have proof... an i-phone picture below. i'm pretty sure they are trying to mimic a first-day-of-school photo which is also posted in the rally hat gallery here (they are 3rd from the bottom):

(pictured here: krista, Marc, and kyle in the solarium)

and by-the-way, in both the old and new pictures could they possibly be mimicking the teenage mutant ninja turtles? it's the first thing that came to mind when i saw each of them.

if you think of any great go-to scrabble words post them with any other comments... skill-building and encouragement... could anything be better? 

TURTLE POWER!

February 19. 2010 - Back to the City

Marc is headed back to the hospital at UCSF today and should be arriving at any time. comments and texts of support and encouragement would be timely today.

note that a new feature has been added to the website which is an email subscription box in the right margin area to be added to the list receiving a notification in your inbox when a new post is up. then, you can either read the text in your inbox or know that you should pop over to the site to leave comments and view photos that might be included.  please subscribe this weekend and consider adding as a follower (with a photo), i know it brightens Marc's day (when he has time for a quick long-in) to see the faces and comments of all those who are cheering for him.... and he's gonna need a lot of support from you sunshine-y fans.

February 16, 2010 - One Game at a Time

marc has another three days to enjoy the fresh air of truckee, the coziness of his home and family. then west on i-80, over the bay bridge and to UCSF he goes.

this past weekend he had a lot of visitors, at least one everyday. friends and family, and perhaps most importantly... his nephew elijah. melissa was on a mission to get everyone in rally hats--looking ridiculous for Marc--and the results of that mission are posted here. the visits have been both fun and exhausting: life just takes a little more work right now. a few more visits are planned before he returns to the hospital.

on friday february 19 he'll return to UCSF for more intensive treatment. today he had chemo at the local clinic and reports relatively few side effects. since there is much more chemo in the future, the lack-of-side-effects is a blessing for which we can only request: more, please.

so you've heard about "chemo" but if you've ever wanted to know more... like, what exactly is chemo? simply put, chemo is short for chemotherapy which refers to particular drug therapies used to destroy cancer cells. click here for Web MD's q&a on chemo for more answers.

it is a bit complex to fully grasp the treatment plan, partly because it could shift depending on a number of factors, partly because neither Marc nor I are oncologists. the thing we know for sure: it is a highly aggressive plan to tackle his highly aggressive cancer and the road to recovery is more like a series of serious games than a single battle. that being said here is a rough outline of the treatment plan (sort of like Marc's-treatment-plan-for-dummies):

• when Marc was last in the hospital, the first week of february, he was on what could be called round 1a. 
• this week when he returns he will begin round 1b which entails, among other things, five days straight of chemo and then rest. end of round 1
• after these days of treatment and rest he will be evaluated either for release or to stay on for monitoring until the next round, what we'll go ahead and call 2, likely with parts a + b.

pray that the time will pass quickly and the fresh air won't seem too far off.  Marc is feeling a little nervous. specifically: a bit nervous about the long stay in a hospital room, a bit nervous about the seriousness of the treatment course, a bit nervous about how overwhelming it can all feel especially when there is no way to schedule an "R-day" - short for the day we all are looking forward to: REMISSION DAY.

while we all look forward to a big celebration on this day, we know it's a little too complex to predict, so we will be patient. as such, Marc is walking the delicate tight rope of knowing enough to be informed about the next match/round without trying to understand all the matches ahead to get to the finals. it's one game at a time... being informed without being overwhelmed.

...and all the love and support from ya'll does help with that.

Marc and I talked about what the next couple weeks will look like and where we all might fit in. once he starts round 1b, he'll be neutropenic. this means that the chemo will not only destroy cancer cells but also white-blood cells which help fight off infection... and leaves him very vulnerable physically.  as he'll be both very vulnerable and likely very exhausted, it will become harder for him to communicate with all of us, though we'll keep this site updated. but phone calls could be harder, responding to texts, emails, etc., will be challenging. 

yet, he is so grateful for these shows of support. so, i asked if i could suggest one-way texts, and he agreed. i may have made this up, i'm not sure. meaning: a  text that does not elicit a response. it is just a statement of support, encouragement, or just an "i'm thinking about you" reminder. you could even text a phone-photo of your smiling face, thumbs up, or whatever else comes to mind. i'm sure the whole family would appreciate one-way texts, actually.

in addition to one-way texts, he has loved the comments everyone has been leaving for him--he said those help too. and, might i put another plug in for rally hats? sure. send rallyformarc@gmail.com photos of you in your rally hat, looking silly... for Marc. you are also welcome to email rallyformarc@gmail.com questions you have about Marc's treatment or information you'd like to see posted that will keep you more in the loop with Marc's progress and i'll run your questions by Marc when i get updates from him.

lastly, i asked Marc if there was anything he wanted to make sure i report to you loyal readers, you website devotees, and he said: "just make sure that everyone knows i am really grateful for everything."

and he, really, really is.

(stay tuned, friends! - posted by amber with Marc's consent)

February 10, 2010 - Home, Home on the Range

good news!

Marc's test results today were positive enough that Marc was able to go home.  he'll be home, resting and enjoying not being in the hospital until february 19th at which point he'll return for a more intensive round of chemo treatment.

he was, of course, very happy to be in the car, on the way home. i told him it *must* because of all the people cheering for him.  he expressed gratitude while also expressing deeper awareness about how long he'll need that cheering section. it's going to be a difficult few months.

we might hear from Marc directly in the next week as he feels better and perhaps up to sharing his own thoughts, until then i'll remain Marc's biographer/newscaster.

and for now, we can pray he enjoys the beauty and solitude of home.

(posted by amber with Marc's consent)

Rally Hats and How to Help

a great photo was just sent of Marc with his soccer team and while they didn't have rally hats on... they are wearing medals and Marc is in it... so, fun! Click here to view that page.  please send photos of you and a group of "yous" with your rally hats on for Marc to rallyformarc@gmail.com. 

also, if you have been wondering how you can be helpful in this situation, click here for ideas. thanks for checking back regularly. we'll try to get a post up every couple of days to keep all you fans in the loop.

February 8, 2010 - "I'm Doing Good"

i asked Marc tonight when i talked to him: "what should I tell people about how you're doing?"

he replied matter-of-factly (of course), "tell 'em i'm doing good."

his mom (Stacy), to whom he attributes his high spirits, has been with him through most of this. and he's very much appreciating the blog comments being left for him, the phone calls, and just knowing that people care. all of these things are a part of his supplemental treatment plan, the part that keeps fueling the fight.

now for the news. yesterday was a chemo treatment via IV bags. today, Marc had a second lumbar puncture and received a chemo treatment in his spine at the same time. despite how not-awesome that sounds,his spirits were high tonight and his voice was stronger and clearer than i have heard in a while. while the treatment made him quite nauseous, his tone was filled with hope and at the same time a sort of a hey-cancer-is-that-all-you-got-attitude, which is great. but for the record, yes, we do all hope that this is all that cancer has got.

right now, the hope is that after these treatments and some time to rest, he will be released Wednesday. Marc would really like to be home, or at least, smell fresh air. his release depends on the stability of his sugar, white blood count, and a few other data points. if they aren't as good as his team wants, it's possible that he will need to stay in the hospital for quite some time. break out those rally hats, people. (and send the photos to rallyformac@gmail.com and they will get posted)

Keep those rally hats on, spirits high, and comments coming--they brighten Marc's day.

(posted by amber with Marc's consent)

February 6, 2010 - First Chemo Treatment

today was marc's first full chemo treatment. more on that, but first, an overview:

the previous three days included (among other things) a bone marrow test, a spinal tap, a PET scan, a chemo injection in his spine, and plenty o' blood work.

marc is surrounded by great nurses, positive and talented doctors, his mom, a phone, and a few other family member visitors. he is fortunate to have aunt lisa and uncle tad who are doctors at the UCSF medical center, where he is located, who are helping to orchestrate his care and oversee his treatment plan. he has a tv that is too small but a grove of beautiful eucalyptus trees out his window.

his spirits are almost always high and full of spice with a fair amount of sobriety about all that is worth fighting for and how long this race will feel. he is usually more worried about not going crazy during an upcoming three week hospital stay than he is concerned about the side effects of chemo.

his first chemo treatment went pretty well. he felt pain relief from the treatment which is tackling the cancer that is creating the pressure and pain. he felt some nausea and side effects in the evening and mom stayed the night at the hospital.

he was accompanied by his big sister and a couple cousins during his first treatment and it was probably more effort to bear his family member's goofiness than the side effects of the chemo. 

the treatment course will be aggressive as the type of non-hodgkins lymphoma marc has is also very aggressive. the plan thus far is that there are four more days of chemo in this round of treatment, then ten days off in truckee, then he will return to UCSF for three weeks of treatment. from there they will reassess and build the next phase of the treatment plan.

though cancer is scary and this one is aggressive and advanced, the doctors are all confident of the fact that he is going to make a full recovery.

we all expect nothing less.

(posted by sister melissa, amber, aunt wendy and uncle pat with marc's consent)

Welcome. (to this site)

this post is also here: http://rallyformarc.blogspot.com/p/welcome.html

welcome to marc's get-well-soon site.

a series of health complications landed marc at the doctor's office in january. after many pokes, prods, scans, tests, and doctors he was diagnosed with stage four non-hodgkins lymphoma during the first week of february 2010.

the road is long and more tedious stints in the hospital than one would like but there is a finish line and he will cross it. his doctors are working up an aggressive treatment plan to battle the force of cancer and restore health and balance in his body--so that's taken care of. 

it's up to all of us--his friends, family, and colleagues to provide the supplemental care. we are his encouragement apothecaries -- not dispensing medicine but love, support and encouragement. people... it's time for rally hats.

this site was created for two reasons. the first reason is so that you--who are visiting this site--can get updates on how our marc is doing with both his treatment and his spirit. when marc is up to telling you his updates he will, otherwise someone else will write for him.

it's also a space for marc to see how many people love him and are cheering for him. so, please do share your thoughts (in response to posts) knowing that whether he responds or not... he is grateful for your love.