“MY SCARS TELL A STORY” - MY PERSONAL NEVER-ENDING BATTLE AGAINST CANCER”
In June 2019 “My Scars Tell A Story” hit the internet, available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and through my publisher. Diagnosed with Stage IV Rhabdomyosarcoma on December 12, 1990, I had no idea what was coming. Many times doctors told my parents to prepare for my passing, but God granted me persistence, patience and the promise I would testify before others how He carried me through impossible circumstances. I pray it touches your life and gives you hope.
BRIEF BACKGROUND OF MARK’S AMAZING STORY
I was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma – a very rare skeletal muscle cancer – on December 12, 1990 at the age of 16. Since this was such a rare diagnosis (only six cases per year were in the U.S. and they were between the ages of 2-6) doctors only gave me six months to live. My doctors at Sloan Kettering put me on a very aggressive protocol which featured mega doses of chemo and radiation designed to destroy my bone marrow – something I would be given back after my final treatment with a bone marrow transplant.
I AM NOT A VICTIM, I AM A SURVIVOR. FIGHT BACK!- NEVER QUIT CAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW HOW YOUR STORY CAN INSPIRE OTHERS
Dick Vitale and I at the 1992 Final Four in Minneapolis. I just turned 18 and was 9 months post transplant.
Only July 15th I was given my bone marrow back that was taken from me in January. I had no idea what horrors lied ahead as I waited for my bone marrow to kick in again. The following are some of the issues that led to last rites being said over me on multiple occasions.
1. My bladder exploded – leading to 11 surgeries in a five-week span, all with zero blood counts, including no platelets. I would have such massive spasms that they had to physically tie me down to the hospital bed from the immense pain.
2. Massive bleeding as a result of my hemorrhaging bladder that resulted in as many as three daily platelet infusions. Many times, my mom was seen pounding on the nurses station door, begging for platelets.
3. A collapsed lung and borderline pneumonia as a result of being stuck without motion in bed for many months.
4. Massive sores up and down my esophagus that resulted in not being able to speak or swallow for three weeks.
5. Risky surgery on an infected broviac, administered while I was awake. Thank God my mom insisted the broviac was replaced, because anything else put through a lumen would have instantly killed.
6. After three weeks of my counts not moving, doctors told my parents I wasn’t going to live through the weekend. Amazingly, the next day my counts rose just slightly, which led to another rise, etc., etc. From there, I started a very slow road to recovery, which left me having to learn how to walk again due to the fact that my muscles had atrophied.
WE WERE MADE WITH & FOR A PURPOSE - KNOW WHO MADE YOU
In May of 2010 I got a chance to meet my sports hero Magic Johnson at the yearly fundraiser that Dick Vitale holds for the V Foundation.
My leg can swell up to 3-4x the size of a normal leg because of Lymphedema, which can cause extremely painful situations. This was on a camping trip in August of 2009.
I recovered enough to be able to finish high school and a few years of college. I entered the workforce as a researcher at ESPN in 1999. However, the radiation had caused severe damage to my intestines, resulting in IBS, colitis, and finally Crohn’s disease. The damage from Crohn’s also can show itself in intestinal blockages that can surface anytime, depending on reactions to diet. In addition to the daily uncertainty and immense pain that Crohn’s flare-ups cause, I also started to notice moderate, then severe swelling in my right leg. Finally in 2003 the swelling - which at one time would recede - was persisting and often caused excruciating pain. The condition was caused from my lymph nodes being removed early in my cancer treatment and resulted in Lymphedema. This along with the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation were occurring in a high percentage of childhood survivors that were treated during their developmental years. The American Cancer Society refers to this as “late effects”.
Suffering from both diseases made working my job at ESPN almost impossible. Lymphedema was causing fevers from my lymphatic system being blocked. The fevers would cause something similar to cellulitis, resulting in severe pain from the swelling and exhaustion from the fevers. ESPN allowed me to work from home, which initially worked out well and I was promoted in 2006. However, the strain of working, even though greatly reduced from being at home, was now starting to affect my work. After my review in 2007 showed I took a step back despite my best efforts, I knew I could no longer continue working. I went on disability soon after and could no longer provide for myself and family.
After a few years of feeling sorry for myself, I tried to use the talents I could use that God still has uniquely blessed me with to tell my story and help inspire others. It says in John 10:30 that God knows the “very hairs on our head are numbered”. King David, who the bible says in Acts is “a man after God’s own heart”, and who slew the mighty Goliath with a sling shot, when feeling hopeless cries out to God in Psalm 139,
“For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb. praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. “