Help Mark's family pay medical bills & funeral exp

My name is Katherine DuBose and this page is for my nephew Mark Darling.

In early 2023 Mark noticed he was having some trouble swallowing. In the past he had acid reflux occasionally but didn't seem to be a big deal. He went to the doctor and EGD was performed April of 2023 which revealed he had Stage 4 Esophageal Cancer with mets to liver and bones. Most people like Mark don't have symptoms until the later stages of this very aggressive disease. He started chemotherapy right away. Soon after his esophagus closed completely and a feeding tube was placed into his stomach. Palliative radiation to his throat did nothing to help. This is one of the cruelest cancers there is. He cannot eat or drink everything via the feeding tube. He has lost significant weight.

The chemotherapy on the first scan three months later showed improvement and we were all elated thinking it would work. We desperately wanted him to be well enough byThanksgiving to enjoy a meal. Not sure why we had that as the goal but we did. The next pet scan in October 2023 showed tumor growth so his chemotherapy was changed. The new chemotherapy was even harder on Mark. He started having severe headaches and dizziness. Mark got so weak he fell and could not get back up this January 2024. He was taken to the ER where they discovered the cancer had metastasized to his brain. It is called Leptomeningeal disease. A word we wish we had never heard of. The specialized treatments and clinical trials Mark needs for this new diagnosis are all out of State. New treatments for Leptomeningeal disease are being done at MD Anderson Cancer Center but that is in Houston TX. Some people receiving these treatments have survived two years now and counting. Mark is young only 53 so he does have this in his favor. We still have hope Mark can survive long enough for even newer treatments to surface.

He has a loving wife and three loving children the youngest of which is 6 years old. The family is down to one income and the mountain of medical bills in the past year as you can imagine has drained the family of all their savings. We are asking for donations to help pay for these continuously mounting medical bills. Mark is in Sacred Heart Hospital right now waiting on an ICU room. Anything you can do to help this family ease the medical burden of this cruel cancer is most appreciated. Please help us stand up to cancer! Anyone with acid reflux, please don't take it for granted go to the doctor and get it checked out.

#cancerawareness

#standuptocancer

#cancersucks