Thomas Vanderhoof Team Tominator

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. 

As some of
you may know my father Thomas Vanderhoof was recently diagnosed with small cell
lung cancer. In the beginning of this summer my father had been complaining of
shoulder pain which had gotten progressively worse. In early July 2016 my dad
went for an x-ray of his shoulder which revealed that there was a mass in his
lung. By mid-July we were informed that the mass was in fact a malignant tumor. The weeks following his diagnoses we were also informed that the cancer had metastasized to his bone, brain, liver & lymph nodes. On Saturday August 6, 2016 my father was hospitalized at Mount Sinai in NYC for emergency surgery to his shoulder as he had been in excruciating pain walking around with an untreated broken arm for weeks leading up to this. On Tuesday August 9, 2016 the orthopedic oncologist at Mount Sinai performed the surgery by scraping out the bone where the cancer and tumor had formed and inserting a metal rod and screws from his shoulder to his elbow. Thankfully dad is now recovering nicely from the surgery but he has a long road ahead of him to continue to battle this cancer. On Tuesday August 16, 2016, just a week after his surgery, dad started his first round of chemo in NYC. 7 hours on Tuesday, 2 hours on Wednesday and 2 hours on Thursday. As most chemo patients will tell you this is no easy task. Dad has been extremely exhausted, has lost all sense of taste and his appetite is limited to ensure shakes and yogurt. We found out today, 8/23/16 that they will continue to treat this cancer with chemo every 3 weeks for, 3 days a week for 6 sessions. He will also be starting rounds of radiation in the weeks to come but we do not know what that entails yet. Since learning of his diagnosis my father has been forced to retire and apply for disability. So yes, not only are we dealing with the stress of my father being extremely ill but also the stress of not knowing if my parents will end up eventually losing their home. It has not been an easy year for us to say the least but we are blessed with the support of family & amazing friends that we will forever be grateful to. I am using this site to update family & friends of his progress along the way. Thank you to all who have already done so much for my family and those that have prayed for my family. Please continue to hold my daddy up in your prayers!