Hi all,

Mark and Meghan are now at the BC Cancer Agency to begin Mark's first round of chemo treatment. Yesterday Mark underwent a series of tests and preparations for his body to receive the chemotherapy. The tests included an opthalmology exam, which was all clear, and a lumbar puncture to test his cerebrospinal fluid which they'll get the results of later, but don't expect to find anything. They will also do a bone marrow test tomorrow - quite a painful test by the sounds of it. The doctors want to perform these tests to rule out cancers in other areas. The doctor they met with yesterday emphasized that Mark's profile is so rare the usual statistics with this type of cancer don't really apply to his case. The fact that he is young and healthy play strongly in his favour to beat this thing.

The chemo treatment itself started this afternoon. It consists of a chemo drip for four hours, followed by 20 hours of the drug circulating in his system. Then he'll have another 4 hour drip of a'clean-up' drug that goes in to round up and get rid of the active chemo drug. Sorry I can't be more specific about this, but it gives you an idea. He'll stay in until saturday to make sure he's recovering well from the chemo. The side-effects they can expect (over the long term) include some hair loss, and inflammation of the mouth and GI tract. Nausea is also a side effect, though the anti-nausea drugs for chemotherapy are apparently quite good at getting this under control.

Meghan is able to stay there with Mark in his room during the treatment and recovery. They've both said that the doctors and nurses there have been fantastic, and they're receiving excellent care. There's a patio there, and a family lounge, and they have their computer there to receive emails - Mark even said he may try to do a blog update in the next little while, so stay tuned!

In the meantime... let's all keep sending all the LOVE and SMASHY vibes possible! The smashing has begun!!