Please give your support and prayers to Tom MLC

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Thanks for the update Bruce.
Thinking good thoughts for you Tom. Always.

[pmint patti]

Ditto on the update...

Tom,
Still sending all the positive energy that I can.
My girlfriends daughter (42) had to have a big tumor removed today.
Altho she lost her uterus, there was no cancer....
Lots of prayers are being said for you!!!
Let's "See" it healed up....gone....
pmint

[Nessism]

Hey Tom,

...don't know what to say. Hope your treatment goes well. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

[Tom MLC]

Well, I "survived" the first chemo infusion, although it wasn't pleasant. Just a slow iv drip in my arm. The worst part for me was sitting in the infusion room with all those other cancer patients. Most of them looked far sicker than me. I really felt out of place. Not to belittle them and the challenge they each face. I wish them all strength and prayers for their personal battle.

I was told the side effects are mostly dependant on the individual. Certainly I had the fatigue. But only for the day. By Saturday morning I was as energetic as ever. My wife and I were out and about most of the day.

Today I'm going out for a short ride with my buddy littleroot. The weather is changing, and the days are getting shorter. Who knows how many chances I have left to ride my GS. Gotta take advantage.

Hey Bob! Don't forget to bring your camera!

[littleroot]

Got the camera ready - see you in a few minutes :-)

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Have a great ride! Share them piccy's!

[bonanzadave]

I was told the side effects are mostly dependant on the individual.

Today I'm going out for a short ride with my buddy littleroot.

Tom,

Glad to see yer chin up. Have fun on the ride. When my Mom had Chemo she sucked on popsicles to minimize the chance of mouth sores.

[littleroot]

Tom rides!

Tom and I had a nice ride, as long as we could until the rain came in.

Wouldn’t you know it? The weather has been beautiful until today.

But it could not dampen our spirits and Tom is doing great!

We went up in the twisties among the redwoods a bit and stopped by Stevens Creek Reservoir where Tom said him and his daughter used to fish.

Here are a few quick pics of our stop:





Can’t wait to ride again witrh you soon, Tom!

Stay strong, and god bless!

-Bob

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Very nice! Thanks! I've been sitting here all day like an idiot. Weather isn't good here either. Think I'll go to REI and buy that bigger tent I want.

[Planecrazy]

Glad to hear the first round went smoothly, Tom! Keep your spirits up, and continue to feel good!!

Regards,

[Tom MLC]

Once again, I want to say thanks to everyone who may be keeping me in their prayers. I do honestly feel them all.

Chemo round two is tomorrow (the 22nd). I don't wish to offend anyone, but as the side effects take hold I may be out of contact for a while. I already feel like I'm not keeping up with all my well wishers.

A friend of mine has taken it upon herself to help keep people informed on my behalf. Lynda is one of my group exercise members, a retired nurse, and a very concerned friend. She has started an e-mail group which she sends periodic updates about my health and treatment progress. If you e-mail Lynda at tomsfriends2010@gmail.com, she will gladly add you to the list.

I am so humbled and blessed to have friends willing to help, in any way they can. It proves there are still good people out there, if you cut through the apathy and cynicism.

God Bless you all.

[Planecrazy]

Don't worry about keeping up with us, Tom ... just concentrate on staying positive and feeling better! I will get on Lynda's list and I'm sure that those of us on the list will keep this post updated on your behalf if you're not up to doing it yourself.

Whether you check in regularly or not you can be sure that our thoughts and prayers are with you, and we wish you all the strength in the world as you conquer this...

Regards,
Steve

[BassCliff]

Hey Tom,

Don't worry about anything but getting better. We keep you in our prayers daily. Be blessed.


All the best to you and yours,

Cliff

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Just concentrate on getting well Tom. We're all behind you.

[Planecrazy]

I signed up for email updates on Tom's progress from his friend, Lynda, and following is her latest post on his condition and treatment:

Hi All again:

Tom wants you all to know how his day went today.

He didn't have his chemo today after all. Instead, they inserted a PICC line. This is a long-term catheter that is used when people need many intravenous infusions over a long period of time. It's nice because he doesn't have to be stuck with a new IV each time and blood specimens can be drawn from it.

Next Wednesday, Tom will start receiving a different and stronger chemo. "cocktail." Being stronger, it's also more toxic and is likely to cause worse side effects than the previous chemo. The infusion of medication will run for 48 hours. They'll hook it up to a battery-operated pump so he doesn't have to be hospitalized. He will return the following Friday to have the infusion disconnected.
He will get this regimen every other week now, going in on the Wednesday and then the Friday. His last round should be around the week of Thanksgiving. Then he will be scanned again to see how the tumor is doing---hopefully, it will be well on the way to being zapped.

Unfortunately, he's still losing weight and is now at 160 lbs. He's doing all he can to maintain or, hopefully, gain weight. This means Boost, Ensure, milkshakes, ice cream, and anything and everything that he wants.

He doesn't think he'll be able to exercise much any more but hopes to drop in at the various clubs every now and then to say hi.
Keep all those positive thoughts and prayers going his way. You're all doing a great job!

BTW, I decided to keep everyone's e-mail addresses private because the list is getting so long (40 peeps and growing every day), and the addresses take up a lot of space.
Lynda