Updates on Mark, a young man who was told in 2005 that he had advanced esophageal cancer with metastasis to the liver and 3 months max to live. With no insurance, limited access to health care, Mark quickly moved from Saipan (where he was working in a hospital) to Bangkok, Thailand for treatment. His esophageal tumor disappeared with radiation and chemotherapy. He had surgery to remove an unrelated kidney cancer. Unfortunately, Mark died cancer-free in 2017, of unrelated septicemia.
August 26, 2012
Mark is still in Thailand. He reports he is feeling fine and is now six
and a half years from diagnosis. He and I discussed this week how it
felt to be told "You have three months or less to live. Go home and get
your affairs in order. Here is a bottle of liquid morphine to help with
the pain of your esophageal tumor. So sorry." His response at the time
he says was "No, I'm going to get treatment somewhere and I am going to
do everything I can to live." And so he did do everything he could think
of including: treatment in Bangkok, staying away from people as much as
possible (harboring germs), living in a very clean environment, having
oncologist provide injectible medication for low RBCs and another
medicine for low WBCs for mom to inject at doc's direction, staying on
top of dehydration and fighting nausea and weight loss and a million
other things. In modern day treatment in the USA most people have a
port put in place for injections. Mark did not have one so he was stuck
with a needle for all chemo, scans requiring meds, IVs for dehydration,
etc. He did not have a feeding tube of any kind. Six years ago there was
no PET scan in all of Thailand so there were no PET scans. A fighting
spirit, support and prayers from around the world, good docs (Theera
Umsawadee and later VA docs), supportive friends and family, luck and
who knows what else kept him alive these good years. Today you can find
him checking out a temple or on a Thai beach. He deserves every
enjoyable and peaceful moment he can get.
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