In March of 2015, the Kirkwood family received terrible news. Mark Kirkwood was diagnosed with a rare form of Renal Cell Carcinoma. Mark Kirkwood is a pillar in the Lawrence County community. Now, the community has a chance to help return all the good he has done by assisting him on his long journey to beat cancer. To help, click the link here to the Mark Kirkwood Foundation funding page or copy and paste the following website into your browser:
http://www.gofundme.com/MKirkwoodFound
Mark is known throughout the New Castle area as being a fun and caring guy. He is the husband of Kathy Kirkwood, father to Mark Jr. and Matt, and brand new grandfather to his granddaughter Alivia, the daughter of Mark Jr. and his wife Lindsey. Mark has also reached out and mentored many young athletes as a coach. He has coached baseball, football, and basketball for the East Side Rams.
Prior to his diagnosis in March, Mark underwent many procedures to correct a hiatal hernia and had his gallbladder removed. After these surgeries, he was still not normal and that is when they found and diagnosed him with Stage 4 Renal Cell Carcinoma. He then underwent a procedure to remove his kidney and surrounding lymph nodes. Mark's strength has not wavered and neither has his smile and sense of humor through his treatments.
All donations to the Mark Kirkwood Foundation will go to helping Mark and his family pay for future medical treatments, future medical testing that will happen every three months, and helping him and his family as they miss work to help him beat this rare form of cancer.
In addition to helping by donating to the Mark Kirkwood Foundation, Friday, May 29th at St. John's Hall from 7 p.m. – 11 p.m., there will be a "Roast" of Mark Kirkwood. At this event, there will be food, fun, Chinese Auctions, 50/50 raffles, etc. To acquire a ticket, a $20 donation is asked. For more information you can reach out to Micah Fulena at 724-614-8146 by phone or text message or contact Dallas W. Hartman, P.C.