Thomas Gasman -
Updates for our fabulous supporters

This page is about Thomas and his treatment for Stage III Neuroblastoma.

Thomas was diagnosed after a mass was found in his belly during his 18 month well child exam on August 11, 2004. He never had symptoms.

On December 20th 2004, after his fifth round of chemo, Thomas had surgery to remove his tumor. Thomas received an autologous(his own cells, collected in October 2004) bone marrow stem cell transplant in February 2005. In April 2005 Thomas finished 12 days of radiation targeting the tumor site.

Thomas finished a six-month cycle of Cis-retinoic acid (oral Accutane) in September 2005. Since that time, he has been off treatment. He returns to UCSF every 3-4 months for check-up scans, lab tests, and a visit with his oncologist, Dr. Rob Goldsby.


We are so grateful to all of you who have supported our family through this journey. Your love and care have been an inspriation and an invaluable help.

This website will collect updates from late January 2005 on. From Aug to Jan we sent a series of E-Mail updates .

Please visit The Thomas Pages - under renovation for more pictures and other information. Sign the guestbook whenever the mood strikes - we love hearing from you!

Journal

Sunday, August 19, 2007 2:12 PM CDT

It was 3 years ago today that Thomas was given the official diagnosis of Neuroblastoma at the age of 18 months. We are happy and grateful to report that he remains disease-free and is a happy and healthy 4 1/2 year old.

We visited UCSF in July for a six-month check-up. Thomas had a huge "first" -- he completed his MIBG scan (1 hour nuclear medicine scan) without anesthesia! The GasBoy no longer needs "the mask". This earned him a trip to the San Rafael Toys-r-Us store, where he picked out some Power Ranger vehicles. (He was able to watch a Power Ranger movie while lying still for the scan.) We rehearsed the scan procedure at our local nuclear imaging center. Thomas laid down on the table and went into the scanner after watching Mary Claire and Mom do it. This helped to take some of the anxiety out of the actual scan at UCSF. Of course, the promise of a new toy helped as much or more!

September will mark two years since Thomas completed his treatment. We go back to UCSF again in early January. At that time we will attend the Survivors Clinic, where we will be given a summary of all of Thomas' treatment and recommendations for continued follow-up. Follow-up will likely include echocardiograms, pulmonary function tests, kidney function tests, and hearing check-ups, as these are all areas that can show late effects from his chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Thomas finished his twice-a-week speech therapy in early June. He does not wear his hearing aid, but we are going to try to work on that again with the start of the new school year. He tends to be very loud. While some of that is his personality, it may also be due to his hearing loss.

Thomas will be moving to the Pre-K class next week at St. Joseph Preschool. He will attend Mondays and Wednesdays 8:30am - 3pm and Fridays 8:30am - noon. He and Mary Claire are also going to be on a soccer team this fall with the Redding Youth Soccer League. The soccer scene is new for us, as Sarah and Rebecca did not play. Wish us luck!

We've had a busy summer, as usual. Mary Claire, Thomas and I went to San Diego in June for my godson's high school graduation and a visit to Legoland. The whole family spent several days at Lake Almanor over the 4th of July. Sarah and Rebecca travelled to Texas to visit their relatives there for nine days. Rebecca attended Sibling Camp at Camp Okizu again this summer and loved it. (Camp Okizu is for children with cancer, their siblings and families.) Sarah did a mission trip to Tijuana, Mexico to build houses earlier in the summer and a week-long trip to Las Vegas to help out with a Girl Scout Camp there. Sarah has also been working on her driving skills since getting her permit in late May. We had some of Mike's family in town during the first week in August. Last week we took the family camping at Patrick's Point, north of Eureka. School starts on the 27th and we are ALL ready for that! Sarah and Rebecca will be in 10th and 9th grades and Mary Claire in 1st grade.

One of the highlights of the summer was hosting Alex's Lemonade Stand again this year during the St. Joseph Parish Vacation Bible School in late June. All of our family helped out. We raised a record $6,807 this year. Thanks to all of you who supported our efforts. It means a lot to us. For more information about Alex's Lemonade Stand, visit www.alexslemonade.org. You can visit our online fundraising site.

We hope all of you have had a good summer. Thanks again for checking in on Thomas and our family. We are so thankful for your support and prayers.

Theresa, Mike, Thomas, Sarah, Rebecca and Mary Claire

Read Journal History

Hospital Information:

UCSF Children's Hospital

San Francisco, CA
530-356-7449

Links:

E-mail Author: mgasman2365@charter.net

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Note: The foregoing information was authored by the patient, parent or guardian, or other parties who are solely responsible for the content. Such announcements or their content are not necessarily endorsed by CaringBridge, Inc. or any sponsoring agent.  This information does not confirm that anyone is or was actually a patient at any facility.