Mark had all of his pre-radiation & chemotherapy tests and set-ups today. He will begin both on Thursday, July 6. This initial round of treatments will last 6 weeks at Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. We will communte daily. Mark is doing well. We even went out to dinner tonight with Kris, as she will be heading back to Thailand early tomorrow morning. Mark and I will leave Friday morning to fly to Miami for our denomination's General Conference meeting which we had planned to attend. We will return on July 4.
Your encouragement has meant a lot to all of us.
Nan

Once again, thanks for your prayers. We had another good day meeting with the doctors at HUP, both the radiation specialist and the neuro-oncologist. My dad really feels that God has led us to the right doctors.

Next Tuesday, June 27, my dad will go back to get everything set up for his radiation and chemotherapy (MRI, CAT-scan, lab work). Treatments will then begin on Wednesday, July 5. He will go to HUP 5 days a week for 6 weeks to receive radiation. At the same time, he will be taking oral chemo at home. After the 6 weeks of treatment followed by a 4 week rest period, he will begin a series of oral chemo and a clinical trial drug, spread out over a year.

Thank you for your ongoing prayers. We are dependent upon them.
Blessings,
Kris

Hello everyone. Thank you for your ongoing prayers, especially for your prayers today as we met with the neuro-oncologist at HUP. Our whole family (Mark, Nan, Jeff, Kris) was able to be at the meeting, and all of us felt very comfortable with the doctor. We believe that, once again, God has led us to the right person for this next leg of the journey.

We talked with the doctor about the plan for treatments, and tomorrow we will go back to HUP to meet with the radiation specialist and another meeting with the neuro-oncologist to set up the start date for treatments.

My dad will have 6 weeks (5 days per week) of radiation (at HUP) in combination with oral chemotherapy. After that is completed, he will begin receiving a clinical trial drug in combination with bi-monthly oral chemo for a year.

We are glad for a concrete plan of treatments. Pray with us as we go back tomorrow to meet with the doctors again.

This was a day that we felt could have been discouraging, but we all came out of it feeling encouraged. Your prayers are making a difference.
Thanks,
Kris

Happy 45th Wedding Anniversary!

Hello everyone and thanks for your ongoing love, concern and prayers for my dad and our family. We appreciate them so much.

Today I invite you to thank God with us for blessing my parents with 45 years of marriage. In this age, this is a remarkable accomplishment, and we are all thankful for the testimony of their lives and marriage. They will celebrate by going *out* for dinner ... my dad got permission from the home nurse for this special occasion, so this is his first time out!

My dad continues his remarkable recovery from the surgery. He had the staples removed on Wednesday, and you can hardly see the incision scar because his hair covers it (for those of you who don't know, they cut very little hair for the surgery). He enjoys going for 1-2 walks each day, and his stamina is good. A few cat naps a day help. He receives great encouargament from the many cards, phone calls and visitors he receives.

For those who want to visit, please continue to call first before coming (215-721-2695), as some days he gets many visitors and we need to spread them out a bit. If you come, the best thing to do is to be yourself and have normal conversations (i.e. talk about your life and your family, how terrible the Phillies are playing, etc.) rather than asking my dad (or us) to go back and relate all of the events that have happened in the past 3 weeks (this can get a bit tiring ... and these events are listed on this page). Certainly you can ask him how he is doing, how he is feeling ... and marvel with us at how God has been working in amazing ways these past 3 weeks. God is good, and he "is able to do immeasuarably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Eph. 3:20-21) We have seen many miraculous things happen in these past 3 weeks, and we anticipate seeing more!

Please be praying for my dad and our family as we meet with the oncologist at HUP (Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania) this Monday at 1 pm. Pray that we will have a good meeting and feel comfortable with the doctor, that we will receive helpful information, and that we will be able to get answers to the questions we have to help us in the decision-making process. At this meeting, we anticipate finding out the plan and schedule for treatments (chemotherapy and radiation). This meeting should also be helpful in processing the appropriate time for my return to Thailand. (What a blessing it is to be able to be here to celebrate my parents' anniversary and Father's Day.)

Thanks again for all of your support and prayers. My dad is overwhelmed by your expressions of love, and he says, "I don't deserve all of this love." We keep reminding him that he *does*.

May God bless each of you as you have been a blessing to our family.
Kris

This is a repost of the update from Thursday, June 8. For some reason, the posting disappeared. Also, many people have had difficulty getting on the page in the past several days. Kris

Hello everyone,

Grace and Peace. I wanted to update you on the report from the medical team after Mark's surgery. The results of the pathology report are that Mark's tumor was malignant. They have decided to proceed with agressive chemotherapy and radiation therapy in order to prevent the tumor from re-forming.

Mark will be going back to the University of Pennsylvania hospital on Monday, June 19th to meet with the oncologist there. Treatments should begin in three or four weeks, after the incision from his surgery has healed.

As you probably realize, this was not the news that the Garises anticipated, especially after the successful surgery and Mark's remarkable recovery. When I met with Mark today, he said that since the doctors are moving ahead with aggressive treatment, it's time for us to enter aggressively into prayer. I want to thank you for all of your prayers and loving expression of concern and support.

Now, I'd like to invite you to continue in a season of bold, persevering, intercessory prayer for Mark, Nan and the whole family.

God's Peace,
Pastor Tom Delk

He's home!

Mark came home from the hospital late this afternoon. He is *very* excited to be home! We are happy, too.

He is doing very well, but tires easily. He would be happy for phone calls or visitors. If you want to visit, please call first (215-721-2695) and limit your visits to a short period of time. We have appointed ourselves as the "Visitor Police". We want to see his good progress continue. :)

Please continue to pray with us as we await the pathology results at the end of this week.

Thanks so much for your support and prayers,
Nan and Kris

June 3, 2006

Another good day! The doctors are encouraged with the progress Mark is making. He had physical therapy this morning and walked several laps around the floor usassisted, and did the same this afternoon. He told Kris it was "a piece of cake." Kris suggested that next time he do it backwards. (Just kidding.) The doctor said he won't need any physical therapy when he comes home. We know what your next question is ... When will he come home? We're not sure yet, but most likely early in the week. Test results will be in at the end of the week. Before we left today, Mark said, "Tell everyone I said hi and thanks so much for your prayers." We all know that they are making a difference.
Thanks,
Nan, Jeff and Kris

June 2, 2006

Mark made a lot of progress today. He had a physical therapy evaluation, demonstrating good strength and mobility considering that this is just 2 days after brain surgery. He has no vision loss. His memory is quite sharp. Drs. Kim and Kelly Phipps of Messiah College stopped by. He amazed us when he brought up a college Board of Trustees topic, giving his opinion and reasoning at length.

He had his first post-surgery MRI, and we are currently awaiting the results. These are long days for us at the hospital. We regret that it's late at night when updates get posted. Mark and our family appreciate your prayer support and messages of encouragement.

Thank you so very much.
Nan, Jeff and Kris

Mark continues the process of recovering from major and sensitive surgery.Thanks for your continued prayers. At this point, his family requests that you not visit unless you have checked with Nan first. Please pray for stamina forNan, Jeff and Kris as they walk through these long days and for Kris andNan in their daily sojourn from Souderton to the hospital in Philadelphia.I also want to remind you to take the opportunity to add your words ofencouragement to the blog. That's a great way to keep their spirits up.Thanks again, everyone, for your continued support and prayers.
God's Peace,
Pastor Tom Delk