Dear Friends & Family,
Those of you who have ever had the pleasure to meet Tom know that he’s a strong, goofy and beyond caring human being. We are here to rally behind him because if there’s anyone in this world who deserves our support it’s him and we invite you to join us!
Tom was diagnosed with cancer in March after finding a red bump under his right ear. On April 24th, 2018, he underwent a long, vigorous surgery at the U of MN to remove the lump in his neck, lymph nodes in his shoulder area and included a skin graft from his left thigh to cover his neck. This summer was spent doing 7 weeks of radiation and was complete on July 17th, 2018. A few weeks after radiation was complete, another small bump was noticed on his neck slightly below where the first one was found. After a biopsy, it was confirmed that it was again cancer. A surgery was scheduled for August 21st, 2018, to remove the second lump. During this time Tom was also struggling with a cough and some chest pain and after a scan of his chest it was discovered that the cancer from his neck metastasized to his lungs.
On August 16th, 2018, Hannah (Tom’s daughter) Tom was admitted to the emergency room at the University of Minnesota hospital for severe pain in his abdomen and left hip. Another CT scan of his abdomen showed that the cancer had metastasized to other areas: psoas muscle, pancreas, and other areas of the abdomen. The doctors decided to start chemotherapy immediately, as well as get a PET scan done to fully understand the severity of the cancer. On Friday, August 17th, he started his first round of chemo and then started a 24-hour round of chemo that will last for 6 consecutive days. Due to the intense chemotherapy regiment, the doctors agreed to not proceed with the surgery to remove the lump from Tom’s neck.
On Friday, prior to starting chemotherapy, doctors informed Tom and the family that the chemotherapy treatment would be a palliative treatment, meaning to treat for the pain symptoms but not a curative treatment. Doctors said that type of cancer that is in Tom’s body cannot be fully killed, but it can be shrunk and contained using chemotherapy.
We are taking it day by day and staying positive for Tom. The family has been with him since he arrived at the hospital. We will be updating this CaringBridge page with journal entries with how Tom is progressing over the days and through his treatments.
Not only is this tough emotionally, but also will be financially for Tom and Carrie. That is why we also set up a GoFundMe page. Any donations will help tremendously with current and future bills. One less stress they have to worry about. We strongly believe in the power of prayer, so please continue to pray for Tom and the family. Thank you all so much!
Love the Olson’s
GoFundMe page:
https://www.gofundme.com/prayfortomolson 
