Tom Hampson

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Our Story:

Tom was diagnosed with stage IV kidney cancer December 2015. It began when he was referred to an orthopedic specialist the week before Christmas for pain in his leg. The next day he was in surgery; a tumor had deteriorated part of his bone and the surgeon had to install a rod in his femur for support. More tests confirmed the diagnosis. Because the cancer had already metastasized to multiple locations, removing the kidney was not going to be of much help and it would delay starting treatment. 

The first week of January 2016 we began treatment: radiation and Toricel, a protein inhibitor. Tom's 2 month scans in February 2016 showed that Toricel was only partially working and he was switched to Opdivo, an immunotherapy treatment. We were very fortunate that the Opdivo worked well for over a year with very little side effects.

In May 2017 the scans showed that the Opdivo had stopped working; new tumors were growing. In June 2017 Tom started on a new therapy, Votrient, another targeted inhibitor drug. However, his body did not tolerate it well and he ended up in the hospital over the July 4th weekend. After a few weeks rest to enable his liver to recover, he is starting Cabometyx, a different type of protein inhibitor. And that brings us to where we are today, July 24, 2017.

While there is no cure, we are hopeful that this new treatment is tolerable and provides a positive quality of life. We thank you, our family and friends, for all of your love and support.