“Slow down you move too fast…” - by Mark

That is what we want my heart to do at least.  So far so good.  We have gone from 140+ beats per minute (BPM) down to about 100 BPM and now in the last few days about 80 BPM.  That is almost normal for me.  It is still irregular but at least slower.  The prayers and meds are working. 

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers.  It is making an amazing difference.  The tumors are shrinking away.  Our oncologist mentioned this last time that 2-3% of Zelboraf patients are actually cured with the medication; previously he had only told us it was a stall drug but with such good results we are all hoping for a cure.

Still A-Flutter - by Ane

We met with the cardiologist today. Mark had another ECG which showed that he is still in A-Flutter which means that the rhythm is steady, but still fast at about 100 beats per minute.  That's slower than it was, so the medicine is helping. (Mark's normal resting rate is around 60.) Dr. Schroeder said that normally when the heart stays this long in A-Flutter the course of action would be to shock the heart back to normal function.  Because of the tumor in his heart that can't be done.  Mark can't take blood thinners which are required for that action, and it's also likely that the heart would revert back to A-Flutter as long as the tumor is there.  Dr. Urba,  the oncologist, also wants to wait until the tumors are gone before we consider that option.  The cardiologist prescribed a larger dose of Metoprolol to slow the heart rate.  The dosage of Amiodarone stayed the same. (That may be what is causing food not to taste good as one of the side effects is bitter taste in the mouth.)

Other than getting tired, Mark is feeling quite well.  As long as he gets his daily nap and doesn't do anything to increase the heart rate, he is good to go!  We asked about exercise and the doctor said that yoga would be good - we'll see if I can get him to do yoga with me! :)