“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! :)

Great News!!! by Mark

We made it home!  We had a great trip and made it home with none of the issues of the trip out.  All went quite well for a 20-hour flight.  Some wonderful friends traded out our middle seats for bulkhead seats and we were both able to sleep.

Today we had another chest x-ray and then met with our Oncologist.  The report from the x-ray stated:

"Comparison is made to chest radiographs and CT scan of 2/17/2012.

Findings- The lungs are symmetrically expanded. Since the previous studies, there has been definite improvement in the appearance of the chest.  The nodular masses in the right and left lobes have almost completely resolved… The cardiac size and vascular markings are normal…”

Impression-

1.      Since the 17^th Feb 2012, the large lobulated masses in the lungs have nearly resolved…”

Fasting, faith, love, prayers, Zelboraff and nutrition have amazing power.  We are extremely grateful for all of your good thoughts, faith, love and prayers.  It is not over but going hugely in the right direction.  We are almost giddy with gratitude.  Thanks so much for your part and Father’s too.  We will meet with the Oncologist again in a month.

We are still in A-fib but the heart rate is under 100 BPM, so manageable.  Meeting with cardiologist on June 1st.

Ready to come home! -by Ane

Tomorrow is our last day in Israel.  We will attend church at the BYU Jerusalem Center (Sabbath is Saturday here), go to the Garden of Gethsemane, Mount of Olives, Garden Tomb, and Orson Hyde garden.  It will be a full day, but awesome!  Then we will board our bus around 6 pm for the airport in Tel Aviv.  Our flight leaves at 12:40 a.m. We arrive at PDX Sunday at 12:15 p.m. (Of course, there is a 10 hour time difference.) Due to the challenges of the trip out, we both feel a bit anxious about how things will go on our return.  We’d like to ask for extra prayers so Mark will have a good trip back.

Monday, Mark has an x-ray at 10:30 am, and an appointment with Dr. Urba 11:30 am.  We’ll find out how well the Zelboraf is continuing to work.  He is feeling very well, other than tiring easily.  His heart is always in A-Fib now - irregular heart beat, but slower that it was before - around 85 beats per minute.

Although we've had a marvelous time here and have learned so much, we are ready to come home!  

Standing on the patio at the BYU Jerusalem Center overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem.