Tom Cordery Kickin' Mr. C to the Curb

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First, a little history...

We started this fierce battle with Mr. C - Cancer that is - in January 2015 when Tom discovered it hiding in the dark corner of his right underarm, all 9 cm of it, embedded in a lymph node.  After we waited weeks to receive a diagnosis while a biopsy sample went from Boise to Salt Lake, then to Seattle and finally to Stanford as scientists struggled to determine the exact type of lymphoma, we finally received a name to call this horrible thing: Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma. 

Many tests, scans, biopsies and doctor appointments later, we are in the third year and gearing up for the toughest fight yet. In June 2017 Tom discovered yet another lump, this time in his lower back. The biopsy revealed what we feared - the cancer was back. He started his treatment on July 5, the same day we met with the doctor and received the news. Day one of a three-day regimen started with Rituxin, the R in his new treatment plan referred to as R-ICE. The second day he checked into St. Luke's downtown hospital so he could receive an infusion of three drugs, one of which required a slow drip for 24 hours. 

Tom will repeat the three-day course of drugs in two more cycles (each cycle lasts 14 days). Once the chemo sessions are finished we will be headed to Salt Lake City for the bone marrow transplant, where he will be in an isolated room in the LDS hospital for several weeks.