Tom Cummings

On June 15th, Tom suffered a seizure.  Up until that time, Tom was feeling great!  He had no idea that a brain tumor was growing inside the right frontal lobe.  But it was there.  Clearly, this has altered Tom and JoAnn's life in every way imaginable. 

Through the grace of God, Tom's tumor was removed a week later and he bounced right back the next day. He had the most talented surgeon who did a very, very excellent job removing all the tumor he could see. Tom felt so good that at first, he did not believe that it was possible. He was out of Albany Medical and back to his home with JoAnn,Yuri and his beloved parrot and his many birds outside of their home.

Unfortunately, glioblastoma stage 4 is a very fast growing tumor from deep inside the brain. It never goes away. Therefore, Tom will go through 6 weeks of chemo and radiation, hopefully very soon. The insurance companies always have to weigh it. This is very expensive treatment.  This treatment will be done in Glens Falls so that Tom and Sissy will not have to travel to Albany.  There are potential side effects to this such as yeast infections and blood clots. There are no guarantees as we all know.

Tom is doing his very best. However, he tires much more easily now and takes a nap everyday. Having too many people around at one time it simply too much. Everyone wants things to be the same. SO DO TOM AND JoANN but they are not the same for now. Tom is not able to drive as there is the risk of another seizure and that can't be predicted. So JoAnn is doing all the driving, cooking, cleaning, shopping, care of pets, yard duty and all the other things that they used to do together.

Tom has had many visitors.   One from his son, Sean and wife, his daughter, Anita and her two beautiful children.  His brother Kevin and nephew, his brother Bobby and his wife, Lisa. Tomorrow his sister, Nancy is coming for a visit. Many members of JoAnn's family have been to visit too. As well as dear friends.

Tom and JoAnn have a faith that is very, very deep.  They know that God has a plan. However, the daily reality of this horrific cancer that NO ONE should ever experience is the new way of life for them for now.

Please think about some words of encouragement for them or a kind deed that might be able to help them. I've never meet two people who have done so much for other people, never. They simply have the biggest hearts. Perhaps, it's time for them to be on the receiving end.

Please keep Tom and JoAnn in prayer. They are strong but they have a difficult journey ahead and since both of them lost their spouses to cancer, they know the road too well.