Island runner continues comeback from extremely rare liver cancer – SILive.com

By George Kochman/Special to the Advance

When Mark Carles recently completed the recent Staten island A.C.- sponsored Fun Run championship three-miler at Clove Lakes Park in 31 minutes even, he was overjoyed.

For most young runners, 31 minutes is no great accomplishment.

But for Mark Carles, who said, “I was flabbergasted,” it marked an important milestone in his life.

“I had hoped to break 48 minutes,” he said.

Carles, a 24-year old West Brighton resident, is coming back from the unthinkable. And he’s displaying extraordinary courage in battling the toughest test of all – survival.

Carles describes himself as “an average runner” at St. Peter’s HS, where he ran 14:37 on the renowned 2.5-mile Can Cortlandt Park course and 18:22 over the hilly Clove Lakes layout.

He began to develop at Hunter College under the tutelage of famed coach Ed Zarowin and Daniel Selsky, becoming a CUNY All Star in cross country in 2014, while posting a 29:35 clocking over the 8K Van Cortlandt course and running 28:22 for five miles.

Things began to deteriorate after 2014, when Carles began to experience extreme stomach discomfort.

Initially mis-diagnosed as a severe case of acid reflux, Carles watched as times got worse, and the stomach pains increased.

This last October, with nearly unbearable pain, Carles again sought medical help.

“After a check-up, Dr. Eugene Holuka sent me straight to the emergency room. He told me to stop flexing my stomach muscles, which I wasn’t.”

CAT SCAN

A CAT scan revealed something more frightening- a seven-pound tumor and two blocked arteries.

After seeing several doctors, and receiving numerous chemotherapy treatments, Carles was forced to face the worst. He was given three months to live.

Carles’ cancer is called fibrolamellar heptocellular carcinoma. It’s a rare liver cancer that affects only 1 in 5 million people. It spread to his pancreas, stomach, pelvis, small intestine, and gall bladder. They removed all of the cancer except what remains in his lungs. He will be starting chemotherapy for that in the fall.

Enter Dr. Tomoaki Kato of Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, he of the famous 40-hour surgery and a pioneer in multi-organ transplanatations.

In February, Sr. Kato performed 16-hour surgical procedure that required 17 pints of blood, with the seven-pound tumor being removed.

Having lost 40 pounds, and battling infections, Carles now faced an uphill battle.

While in recovery, he was contacted by Gabriele (Gabe) Grunewald, the recently-deceased champion middle-distance runner, who had undergone a similar procedure.

“She really inspired me,” understated Carles.

Training after a major operation has been difficult for Carles.

“Where they made the incisions, they cut into my abdomen, so every step down feels like a blow to the stomach, said Carles.

Now, he’s turned to the bicycle, a favorite rehab tool for recovering track athletes.

“I was inspired to use the bike after reading Lance Armstrong’s autobiography,” he said, adding, “Cycling outside and on the stationary bike is less pressure on my stomach.”

He’s also been doing some light weights, but admits, “I still can’t perform a single push-up.”

LOTS OF SUPPORT

Carles gives credit to his physical therapist, Michael Sala, who has helped with an exercise and stretching routine.

And he’s had help from older brother David, a late bloomer himself.

David developed into an all-conference baseball player at Alma College in Michigan, and has played baseball in Germany. He’s foregoing a return to international baseball this year, staying at home to help his younger brother with training. “He slows down for me,” said Mark.

There’s additional good news from the latest scans, which show a steady liver regrowth and a slowing of cancerous nodules.

What does the future hold? Carles is well aware that there is still a long battle ahead.

“I’ve been a vegetarian for 19 years,” he said, “and when they took out my gall bladder, I have to cut down on the fats. I’m always looking for the hottest superfoods, and now I’m constantly eating a lot of chia seeds.”

Chemo treatments resume this fall, so Carles can enjoy the summer.

And he’s hoping to return to his internship as fact-checker for Dan Rather- “once I get completely healthy again.”

Besides regaining full health, “I’d like to continue the work of Gabe Grunewald,” he says. “She was an advocate of exercise when you feel good.”

“The workouts are tough, but I am getting stronger. The best thing is now focusing on the pain in my legs rather than the pains in the stomach. And best of all, I’m happy.”