David Geldhof David Geldhof

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.


24 days ago I wasn’t aware there was such a site but now David and I are aware of many things we had not ever dreamed would be a part of our life.   Literally, 24 days ago we were enjoying retirement and looking forward to a long summer trip visiting people and places around the country.  David noticed he had a tenderness on his right side but didn’t think much about it.  A few days later I noticed his speech was a little off and he mentioned his tongue was swelled and crooked. 


He thought he had a mini stroke.  He went into the doctor to get checked out.   Our family doctor  was immediately  concerned and sent him for a CT scan and chest X-ray.  On Friday night he called and our world changed.  


He said it was bad and we needed to see a pulmonary oncologist right away.  Our doctor called in a favor on Monday and Tuesday we were with the pulmonary oncologist .  David has been on blood thinners for years so the biopsy she recommended had to be delayed for 5 to 7 days.  On Thursday January 28 he had a biopsy at Naples Community Hospital.   They told us it would be 3 to 5 days for the results so we went home to wait.  We thought it would be a long weekend of waiting.


The next afternoon our pulmonologist called and asked us to come right in.  We were prepared for a little bad news but we had no idea how bad it would be.  The diagnosis was Small cell aggressive extensive cancer in the lung, liver, and bones.   It is treatable not curable.  Those words will forever be engrained on my brain.  Talk about a body blow.  We were shocked and scared.  


Again our doctor called in a favor and on Tuesday we meet with a oncologist and a radiation oncologist to create a treatment plan.  I won’t bore you with a saga of all the meeting, tests, doctors, scans and education that took place but rather let me just say today we started and aggressive treatment of chemo and radiation.  David is prepared for a fight.  


My goal with this site is to keep friends and family informed,  not to bore you with the challenges of cancer. I would encourage you to text David rather than call him as he has trouble speaking at this time.  His breathing is compromised and he coughs so talking is difficult.  He is very fatigued and sleeps much of the time.  You can also feel free to call me or text me.  I’ll do the best I can with communication.  We are in for the long haul.


David’s youngest daughter Dana visited last week and I want to say she was phenomenal.  She was so helpful, upbeat, and kind I can never repay her.  We were even able to talk him into celebrating his 72nd birthday on Sunday.  Our little neighborhood put together a Sunday morning porch party to celebrate the birthday and the beginning of treatment.  David was able to have a few laughters,  a little wonderful food and the company of friends and family. It did nothing but good for him.  Now we face the fight.