Our Family with Dr. Urba - by Ane

Last Tuesday we had to opportunity to take our children to meet Dr. Urba.  We had lunch together and he took us on a tour of the Providence Cancer Center Research Institute where we saw the labs and met some of the scientists behind the scene who are working diligently to find cures for cancer.  It was an awesome opportunity!

 Tyler & Kelsey, Eric & Jessie, Dr. Urba, Mark & Ane, Michael & Heather, Amanda & Jon
(Rachel & Tighe are in Idaho)

FYI Test Good - by Mark

We have such a wonderful Oncologist, Dr. Walter Urba; he is the head of the Provident Cancer Center here in Portland.  This center is part research and part treatment, a nice combination to keep everyone current and enthused about helping real people with serious health issues. 

We met with him mid-day this past Monday, and all seemed well — he was ready to let us go for another 4 months. However, we asked him about getting a chest X-ray to be sure.  He said I looked great but if we wanted one, it has been 6 months and the X-rays are not too invasive or expensive, so we could do it.  A couple hours later we got to the imaging location, did the X-ray and after shopping at Costco we got home to the email from Dr. Urba stating, “FYI – Test Good.”  So now I have been almost a year and a half tumor free and off the Zelboraf for a year.  We have been so blessed!!

In reality, we have been blessed in so many ways.  I have a wonderful wife and family, which keeps growing and getting more and more wonderful.  Our company is doing amazingly well.  We are enjoying a great culture, leading the industry and growing as fast as we can while maintaining the quality.  We served 34,000 individuals last year by planning their funerals ahead of need.  Their family’s lives will be so much easier and more peaceful when their loved one dies.  I have had the opportunity to serve in the Church and come to know that God lives and Jesus is the Christ — what true peace, joy, happiness and hope that has brought me.  I had no idea how wonderful it could feel.  I had no idea that prayer could be two-way.  It is so comforting to receive His counsel on so many things. 

We added a new tab to our blog, "Words of Comfort."  Throughout this journey, we have been comforted by words of scripture and inspiration.  They are now recorded under that tab.  We hope these words can be a source of comfort for others.

Thank you for your care and concern, your faith, good thoughts and prayers.

I Am Thankful! - by Ane

As soon as I woke up this morning and realized that it was Thanksgiving Day there was no hesitation in counting my blessings.  Mark was sleeping peacefully next to me.  Not only is he alive, but he is as healthy and vibrant as he has been in a couple of years.  The cancer was likely growing for quite some time before we knew it was there.  As we look back we recognize the signs that at the time we thought were just the normal challenges of aging.  Now Mark has increased energy and sometimes I have trouble keeping up with him!  This is more than the miracle of modern medicine.  Yes, I will acknowledge that the medicine was miraculous in shrinking the tumors so quickly. We knew that if it worked it would give us more time together, but even with the meds it wasn't likely that he would live much more than a year from the time he was diagnosed.  Dr. Urba told us much later that Mark’s condition was so severe that he didn't think he would live more than 3 months if he did not respond to the meds.  The 6-12 month time frame he initially gave us was more than optimistic, perhaps more the time frame if he responded positively to the Zelboraf.

Mark has been off all meds now since January and there is no indication of any tumor growth.  We meet with Dr. Urba again this coming January and will determine when to have the next scan.  Will the cancer return?  We don’t know.  What we do know it that we have been recipients of a miracle, and for that we are most grateful!  So today I am thankful – for Mark’s health, for more time together, for a loving supportive family, for the kindness of friends, and for the power of faith and prayer through which miracles are made possible.

3 Aug 2011

30 Jul 2013

10 Aug 2012

Healthy, Happy and Home Again - by Mark

Our visit with Dr. Urba, our oncologist, was pleasant and wonderfully uneventful.  All is still well!  He says I am looking good and with no unusual aches and pains, we should stay the course and ride it out drug free as long as we can.  If it comes back we would likely hit it with "Z" again and knock it back down.  He is very clear that we are in uncharted territory.  Zelboraf simply has not been around that long. There are so few that are still living, way fewer that are in remission and even less have gone off the medication.  We are so grateful to be here and to have more time together.  Thank you again for your love, faith and prayers.  It has been a miracle.

Ane and I had a wonderful time in Ireland last month, celebrating our 35th.  It was beautiful and exciting.  It rains all year there so everything is lush and green.  We did get to see many of the records of our ancestors in the Kilbrogen church in Bandon, County Cork.  It was exciting to find some that we didn't have complete information on.  Driving was the most exciting with very narrow roads, (literally 6" wider than our car, including the center stripe) with no shoulders and stone walls or hedge rows right next the driving lane.  To make it worse they are driving on the wrong side of the road at 50 miles an hour around blind curves usually on wet pavement.  If that is not enough, the pub is the center of life for many of the Irish and downing a pint of their famous Guinness dark beer is tradition.  It is no wonder American Express won't insure rental cars in Ireland! :)   Well...we made it through unscathed and had a delightful time.