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My name is Mark. This is my website. That might sound selfish, but I believe I am entitled to be selfish. Brain Cancer is killing me. I have 12 to 18 months to live. I want to share my thoughts, feelings, fears and anger with you. Maybe it will be enlightening and inspiring to you. I will attempt to daily up-date my struggle, sharing the bad days and the good. If you join me on my journey, perhaps I will feel less alone and afraid as the cancer destroys more and more of me every day.
Mark's Bucket List
Mark wanted to meet Jimmy Buffet, return to Hawaii one last time and see his father once more. While these didn't happen for him, he still had hopes and dreams . . .I do. Do you?
About Mark
- Mark
- Naples, FL, United States
- Mark C. Plotkin 1/21/48 - 12/9/08 Cancer won the fight, but Mark never gave up!
Before Cancer
Here's me before.
December 7, 2008
Mark and His Brother, Jerry - Look at that Smile!
6 comments:
I am Mark's wife, Rebecca. This is his blog; but I want to give readers a little back ground he may not be up to sharing. In April of last year, Mark thought he had a really bad sinus infection. We don't have insurance, so we tried every over-the-counter medication we could think of for relief. On 4/3, he became so dizzy, he fell. I had to call paramedics and in their exam at the ER, they found the tumor in his sinus cavity. That's what has started our nightmare journey. I have a job. A pretty good one. But Mark has not been physically able to work for more than two years (he had a diabetic foot ulcer before this), we are living paycheck to paycheck. A lot of months, we pick out which bill gets skipped. When the cancer was discovered, the medical debt began to mount. We have fought and fought with Florida Medicaid, but because I work (no matter what we have in bills each month), they will only provide him coverage if we pay the first $1,477 per month for medical expenses. We even had the chemo therapy provider deny him treatment his doctor said was critical and urgent, because we had an unpaid balance with them. Emotionally, all this is devasting to him. He is very depressed but as he says, he will never give up. I thought you might want to know what prompted this blog - his need to document his remaining time and to get strength from letting out some of the emotions. This blog won't always be cheerful. Thanks for taking the time to read this. Love to you all.
Hey Mark,
I hope this site helps you let your story out. I think it is important that everyone understand just how great life is and we should be thankful for all that we have. Having a positive attitude is the key to a great life.
Hey Mark,
Being selfish is a good thing. Actually, at this point, it's essential.
Some people say that the right treatment or a good doctor are what's most important in fighting cancer. I disagree. I think the two most important things are a good attitude (notice I didn't say a positive attitude,) and the support of the people who love you. From what I've seen, you've got both. With those two things on your side, you're in a good position to kick ass and take names.
And if you ever feel badly, just remember a dear friend of mine who went to the doctor after feeling ill for months. The doctor examined him and referred him to the hospital to see various specialists. After a couple of weeks, all the test results came through, so my friend returned to see his doctor.
"I'm very sorry", said the doctor. "I'm afraid I have bad news and worse news."
"Tell me the worst."
"I'll be honest, you have cancer, you'll be dead in three months."
"Shit!" said my friend. "What on earth is the bad news?"
"You also have Alzheimer's Disease."
"Alzheimer's? Oh well, at least I don't have cancer."
Nancy
Mark,
James shared your website with me and I hope you don't mind. I think we can all learn so much from you and your journey through cancer. I have never had a deadly disease, so I don't plan to say I know how you feel. But I want you to know that I feel your and Rebecca's pain and love. I know what it feels like to watch a loved one go through so much without being able to truly help. Just being there doesn't feel like enough.
I hope you are able to complete some of the items on your Bucket List and I hope everyone gets the message to start the Bucket List earlier in life so we can all finish what we started.
Thanks for sharing your story. I can't imagine making something so private and painful, so public. You are very brave.
Live, Laugh, Love.... Monica
It is so pleasing to hear from James, Nancy and Monica! Today has been a good day. I'm a bit tired from the heat and getting a shot this morning, but feeling good. I really want this websight to work for ALL of us! To understand and share our ideas, hopes and dreams. I love you all! Mark
Dear Mark and Rebecca,
If there is any way I can help, I will be there!! You are both in my prayers and think of you often. I hope this helps you and inspires others to help them cope and enable them to have the same courage you do!!
Hang in there!!
Love,
Joan
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