Tom’s Story

Site created on August 12, 2022

Tom has been diagnosed with extensive small cell lung cancer. With therapies they beleive they can keep him alive and comfortable for as much as 14 months. We will do our best to keep everyone posted on any further treatment plans or changes in good status.

Newest Update

Journal entry by Carolyn Dindorf

It’s been a long time since the last update. Tom made it through the chemotherapy with a lot of ups and downs. Recent scans showed he responded better than expected with significant shrinkage of the original lung tumor and finding no cancer in his liver! That was some great news.

The cancer is still in his lymph node and lungs. He will have ongoing immunotherapy every 3 weeks. He recently started radiation and has 3 weeks, 5 days a week. He is down to his last week. They delayed the immunotherapy during the radiation and he had to delay the last week of radiation due to a bout with pneumonia which he is still recovering from.  He has been much stronger but is weaker now due to the pneumonia and probably the radiation. Hopefully, he will regain his strength after  the radiation ends

 When he has energy, he likes to go out in his garage workshop and work on fixing up an old metal lathe his brother Mike  bought for him. they have it running but Tom is making a bunch of safety shields for it since he has narcolepsy and can fall asleep instantly due to some medication side effects. He loves spending time in his workshop. Despite all his medical conditions he is still able to build things including several gadgets that help him manage with his disabilities around the house.

Tom is dealing with some serious back problems now that the doctors say they can’t do anything about.

He really appreciates phone calls and visits from friends. If you call, you may have to try a few times. He doesn’t hear the phone when he sleeps Anna he is having trouble with the cell phone hanging up when he tries to answer it. Also, he doesn’t check voice mails so you are better off calling again.

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