***This post was prior to setting up the Leveraging Life website***
Let me start out with a quick update my sister Molly prepared a few days ago that I never had a chance to share with those of you not on her mailing list and then I’ll fast forward to what went on this weekend and will be going on tomorrow.
Hi everyone,
Tom got back the results today – out of the 25 or so lymph nodes that were taken out two showed Merkel Cell cancer – one was 6 centimeters and the other was over 5….which are considered quite large. So what do we do next? We talk to different medical oncologists and find one that we feel can handle this type of cancer. Because this cancer is so rare and doesn’t look like other cancers he’s gotten very different advice from three different oncologists on what he should do next. Some say to do chemo and radiation and another says to only do radiation. So first thing first – Tom has to heal for the next 5 weeks from the surgery before he can start treatment and he’s currently battling an infection so that needs to be taken care of. So we are praying for clarity and wisdom on choosing the right course of action to fight this cancer and praying for a doctor that knows how to treat this cancer. He is hoping to also get a consultation with an oncologist at Washington University in Seattle as they are the only ones in the country currently doing studies on this type of cancer and will maybe put him in one of their research studies. So a lot of people are on his list to consult while doing as much research as can be done these next few weeks.Overall Tom is doing amazing; he still has a great attitude and is ready to fight this head on. His spirit and faith have been very inspiring and have been a true lesson to me on how I look at road blocks or difficulties in my own life. He recently moved into a house so he’s really excited about that and he’s turning this whole experience into something positive to benefit others.
Thanks everyone for your continued prayers and sweet messages checking in on all of us!! We really appreciate all the love 
xo, Molly
