Mark was living in Orange County, Calif., helping run art galleries and operating a business as a benefit auctioneer. In 2021, his career came to a halt when Mark moved to Reno to become a full-time caregiver for his 92-year-old father. Less than two years later, Mark received a devastating diagnosis of stage 4 soft tissue sarcoma, a rare cancer in the body’s soft tissues.
His battle began in May 2023.
For years, Mark had been his father’s caretaker. Now, he found himself on the other side, staying in the hospital full-time to receive his initial treatments.After three rounds of chemotherapy, one round of radiation, and a round of immunotherapy, Mark’s doctor began to search for other options, eventually leading Mark to a clinical trial at Sarcoma Oncology Center in Santa Monica, more than 500 miles away from his home.
As part of the trial, Mark learned he would need to fly out three times a month for 18 months. “As a patient, finding out my only hope for continued medical treatment was blocked by inaccessibility because of distance and personal expense was a helpless feeling,” Mark says, recalling the high commercial flight and rideshare costs from his first trip. That’s why, when an oncology nurse told him about Angel Flight West, he was blown away. “Angel Flight West is opening a door for me. They told me, ‘we’ll get you there––you focus on healing.’”
After his second Angel flight, Mark called a mission operations coordinator to see if there was a “punch card” he needed to be aware of––a limit to the number of flights he could request. The response stuck with him: “If we have pilots and the weather cooperates, we’ll get you there.”
So far, Mark has been gifted with 11 Angel flights and is already scheduled for upcoming missions. “I can’t believe it’s at no cost to me,” he says.
As a benefit auctioneer, Mark has helped his share of homeless animals, survivors of domestic violence, and schools raise money for their cause. “I felt the work I was doing was in service of philanthropy,’ he says. “To be on the receiving end of that generosity? It feels like a full circle.”
