IAIZZO - Tough As Nails Event

We are family and friends of Mark Iaizzo. Mark has been described as "courageous, a champion, my hero, tough, stubborn, determined and proud to know you." Mark is all of the above but they definitely have shown through during the difficult health challenges he has faced and won. In 1998, Mark was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It came back 6 months later and he underwent a bone marrow transplant using his own stem cells, 5 years later another battle with lymphoma. This time it was a bone marrow transplant using stem cells from his brother, Paul. During these past 7 years, chronic graft vs. host disease has made life different for him then the rest of us would experience on a daily basis. In December of 2011, a sore on his lip turned out to be a T3N1M0 oral cancer. Because of the aggressive nature of this tumor Mark has had surgery to remove his lower lip, reconstruction of the lip, selective neck dissection and is currently undergoing additional treatment consisting of daily radiation along with 3 cycles of chemotherapy. His treatment cycle is to end on March 29, 2012. We are having a celebration of his accomplishments and the end of treatment on March 31, 2012 at Manitou Station, downtown White Bear Lake.