Mark Preiss

As many of you know, Mark was diagnosed with cancer in October 2009, a tumor was found on his kidney. The tumor was contained and his kidney was removed making him "cancer free". We were ecstatic that there was no need for chemo therapy or radiation! Every cancer patients dream! Unfortunately, the cancer resurfaced in January 2011 with a mass on his sternum. It was too close to the heart to radiate and this type of cancer was "not receptive" to chemo therapy. There were several "treatment" options available. Mark and his medical team decided on a daily treatment to slow down the progression of this disease. At that time, he was told that he would never be in remission but they would do their damn best to slow it down. Scan after scan showed positive results, no growth in the size of the mass. There were some side effects that caused blisters on his hands and feet that caused some hospitalization. All in all, the doctors were thrilled and considered Mark a "poster child" for this treatment option. 

Recently Mark had been complaining about leg pain and after a couple of weeks, he finally gave in to his stubborn ass Preiss self and went to the doctor. After an MRI, it was confirmed that there was a tumor found on his right femur. He was told to stay off his feet, no heavy lifting but could still hang out at the restaurant. An appointment was set up to meet with the surgeon on Thursday, September 22nd. Mark never made that appointment because he went ahead and fractured his femur (the one with the tumor) by simply walking out the the restaurant to go home the night before his appointment (the tumor was putting too much pressure on it). He went to the hospital via ambulance that evening (September 21st). See below for updated details!