Good news re Mark

[Miriam Elliott]

Saw Radiation Oncology yesterday. They said Mark's throat/neck cancer is treatable and curable and is "not a death sentence! We had been very concerned about his prognosis as it had spread from the main tumor to lymph nodes in his neck. So what a relief!

 

The bad news is that it will be very tough treatment: Radiation starting 9/26 daily, Mon-Fri for 7 weeks. And chemo once per week. About 4 weeks into radiation he'll start getting a very sore throat/mouth, be hard to eat/drink, may have difficulty swallowing. They will supply "magic mouth wash" (lidocaine). But if he finds it too difficult to eat they may have to put in a temporary feeding tube. Mark had already lost 40 lbs since Jan. a warning sign of cancer we see now in hindsight, so getting him through this nutritionally is concerning. Will be meeting with a nutritionist also. 

 

They think his TIA/mini-stroke was likely due to blood clots caused by the cancer. A dr in the hospital told us that cancer can thicken your blood. 

 

Please continue to pray for him. We feel blessed that the prognosis is so good. Thanks be to God! It was an anxious 2 weeks waiting on yesterday's appt to find out. And we have challenges ahead. But will focus on the light at the end of the tunnel. 

 

Peace & Love,

Miriam

[Elyse Marhefka]

Hi Miriam,

We’re so relieved that his prognosis is good and hope that treatment is not too difficult. I’d like to set up a Meal Train for you if that is okay (People sign up online to make and deliver food to you). I can send it out to the church. 

If you are okay with me doing this, I will need a little bit of information:

- dietary restrictions/preferences

- time frame you’d like meals delivered

- any days you wouldn’t want meals 

- address 

Sincerely,

Elyse

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Sincerely,

Elyse Marhefka Moser
emmar...@gmail.com
561-635-0296

[Miriam Elliott]

Oh Elyse, you're an angel for offering this. But I am going to decline for now. May decide later if things get really difficult to take you up on it.

 

Currently, due to Mark's severe back pain, that puts him in bed a lot, our schedules are not in sync so we seldom eat meals together. And when his pain is bad he loses his appetite. Plus I am pretty protective of him & try to make sure he isn't disturbed so visitors are limited. Distractions make it harder for him to focus on controlling/managing his pain. So I think he'd prefer we not do this. (he's already gone to bed, I'll speak to him about it tomorrow).

 

But I'll reach out later on, as his radiation proceeds, if this becomes something that would help. He may get to a point where I'll have to puree his food to be able to swallow it. Or run frequently to Steak N Shake for milkshakes! One of the drs told him to not worry about eating/drinking high fat stuff like milkshakes, just intake calories as much as he can. 

 

God bless you and thanks, 

Miriam

---------- Original Message ----------
From: Elyse Marhefka <emmar...@gmail.com>
To: emmanuel-men...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Good news re Mark
Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2022 17:38:22 -0400

Hi Miriam,

We're so relieved that his prognosis is good and hope that treatment is not too difficult. I'd like to set up a Meal Train for you if that is okay (People sign up online to make and deliver food to you). I can send it out to the church.

If you are okay with me doing this, I will need a little bit of information:

- dietary restrictions/preferences

- time frame you'd like meals delivered

- any days you wouldn't want meals

- address

 

Sincerely,

Elyse

On Tue, Sep 13, 2022 at 12:05 PM Miriam Elliott <mark...@juno.com> wrote:

Saw Radiation Oncology yesterday. They said Mark's throat/neck cancer is treatable and curable and is "not a death sentence! We had been very concerned about his prognosis as it had spread from the main tumor to lymph nodes in his neck. So what a relief!

 

The bad news is that it will be very tough treatment: Radiation starting 9/26 daily, Mon-Fri for 7 weeks. And chemo once per week. About 4 weeks into radiation he'll start getting a very sore throat/mouth, be hard to eat/drink, may have difficulty swallowing. They will supply "magic mouth wash" (lidocaine). But if he finds it too difficult to eat they may have to put in a temporary feeding tube. Mark had already lost 40 lbs since Jan. a warning sign of cancer we see now in hindsight, so getting him through this nutritionally is concerning. Will be meeting with a nutritionist also. 

 

They think his TIA/mini-stroke was likely due to blood clots caused by the cancer. A dr in the hospital told us that cancer can thicken your blood. 

 

Please continue to pray for him. We feel blessed that the prognosis is so good. Thanks be to God! It was an anxious 2 weeks waiting on yesterday's appt to find out. And we have challenges ahead. But will focus on the light at the end of the tunnel. 

 

Peace & Love,

Miriam

 

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Sincerely,

Elyse Marhefka Moser
emmar...@gmail.com
561-635-0296

 

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[Kay Martin]

So thankful that Mark has such a good prognosis! Will be in prayer for you both as he goes through the ordeal of treatment.

Kay

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