Medical expenses for Mark Potter

Hello everyone, this is Delen Potter, oldest child and favorite daughter of Mark & Gail Potter.

For those of you that haven’t heard yet, my dad, Mark, was diagnosed with bladder cancer in September. He had what was supposed to be outpatient surgery on September 17, 2020 to remove suspicious tissue that was found on the floor of his bladder in an earlier cystoscopy. Due to additional work that the surgeon had to do, he ended up spending the night. Unfortunately the next morning he ended up developing some complications that delayed his discharge until very late that night.

On September 30th mom & dad got the diagnosis....high-grade urothelial carcinoma that extends to involve localized superficial glands in prostate tissue. Bladder cancer!!!! Bladder cancer that is very aggressive and has a high reoccurrence rate. Because of those two factors, he’ll have to undergo frequent testing. Every three months he’ll need to have a cystoscopy to make sure no additional tumors have grown.

At this point he has continued to experience problems which are now resulting in additional tests. A second CT Scan last week showed that everything looked good post-op.  He was supposed to begin chemo (once a week for 6 weeks they will fill his bladder with chemo that he needs to hold in his bladder for 1-1/2 - 2 hours) on November 4th, but because of the complications, they have to hold off on it until a urodynamic test can be done on November 9th.

This diagnosis and surgery isn’t a one time deal, this is something that dad will need to be followed closely for the rest of his life.

Mom & dad are both “medically retired” as mom puts it, they both are unable to work because of their medical conditions
and they both collect SSD.

They are still paying off medical bills from when dad got sick 4 years ago for a knee that became infected for no reason whatsoever that turned septic. He was hospitalized 3 times over the course of 1-1/2 months and experienced every complication or side effect imaginable including kidney failure. At one point he was seeing over a dozen specialists. Due to this he wasn’t able to return to work and became permanently disabled.

The other day the hospital bill came in the mail. Mom opened it, looked at it, put it back in the envelope and set it aside. I could tell she was stressing about it!!!!

My parents have always been there for my brother Aaron & I as we were growing up. They continue to do so much for not only us, but for the community we live in. Mom started her non-profit, Mats for a Mission 4 years ago while dad was in the hospital battling his knee infection. They both have enjoyed spending time at the MFAM office with the members over the years. Dad is the best receptionist, always stopping people at the mall and telling them exactly what MFAM is all about. They also are very active in filling the little free food pantries throughout the area.

My parents are so dedicated to the WNY community, they never hesitate to help where possible. It’s now time that we show them some love and support in this time of need. We as a family hope that this will help cover some of the medical bills they will face, so that mom & dad can relax and have one less worry as dad fights and beats this!! Anything helps and the Potter family thanks you ahead of time!!