Mark

On Thursday morning I got the phone call that everything was lined up for chemo and that I could start on Monday. Then, late in the day on Thursday, Dr. S called to say he had talked to Dr. B. Yes, that Dr. B. She suggested adding radiation to my treatment regimen. Dr. S told me that he spoke with Alex (I should call him Dr. Frank, but he was a swimming buddy first...) and they decided not to follow Dr. B's suggestion because the level of toxicity would be too great. We talked a little, and I was in agreement, but then after I got off the phone I started thinking: What if Dr. S and Alex were playing it too safe? My gut told me they were right, but this...this is a time where I needed confirmation of that.

Thursday evening I emailed, Mark. Mark is the director of the Norris Cotton Cancer center at Dartmouth. I told him the two sides and what my gut told me, and asked him for his help. Within 48 hours he got back to me (supporting Dr. S) and making it so that when I go tomorrow morning to finally start chemotherapy, I am completely confident that the treatment course is the best possible option.

So, needless to say, based on the past few days alone, you can tell Mark is awesome. But he has been with me from the get-go. And I just typed (and then deleted) a huge list of the ways he has helped me out through this journey, but the nitty-gritty doesn't tell what needs to be said ~ whenever I had a doubt or an issue through the (very long) diagnosis stage, Mark is the one who alleviated it.

Now...the kicker. Mark has never met me. He doesn't have my billing address or insurance information. He wouldn't know me and I wouldn't know him if we passed on the street. He got my information because he is a family friend. He helped me because this is simply the type of man he is. I will be ever thankful for receiving his first "opening salvo" email because he has proven to be a constant when I needed one the most.