Mark with his battle against cancer

Hello, My name is Chris, I am Mark's older brother. My heart is breaking writing this for everyone to read.

A couple of weeks ago Mark received the news that he will be enduring a battle with Squamous Cell Carcinoma. It is a cancer of the mouth and throat. We spent many hours in testing and consultations with the amazing doctors at Marshfield Hospitals Oncology Center. His diagnosis was as positive as it could be given the journey that this will become!

Mark will undergo surgery to remove a tumor and cancer cells in his lower jaw and gum line. That requires the physical removal of a majority of the lower jaw from his molars forward. He will have the jaw rebuilt using a technological innovation of a molded implant in the shape of his current jaw and then grafting bone from the fibula in his lower leg. They will use the soft tissue from the donor site to recreate the lining of his mouth. Teeth will be added to the process in about 18 months. During this process with no real timeline as to how long, Mark will have a tracheotomy in his throat and a feeding tube as well, so this skinny kid doesn't wither away completely!

Mark's surgery is scheduled for this coming Monday, May 15th. We have been told that this is a 12-14 hour surgery if all goes well. This will require a stay in Intensive care for a few days then transferred hopefully to a regular room for 2 weeks minimum. He will begin 10 weeks of radiation and hopefully no chemotherapy, but that depends on the testing of his lymph nodes on surgery day.

All toll Mark is expected to be off work for 16 weeks. I am hoping to offset his living expenses and travel expenses as this time passes. If anything is left over we can apply that to his medical bills.

Since Marks's diagnosis, he has moved in with our parents for help due to a looming divorce. We may have to bring in at-home care if this battle doesn't proceed favorably.

Thank you for whatever you can donate

Chris Theroux