Tom Kladar 20 year survivor party and fundraiser

Thank you for visiting my fundraising page! I am excited to support the V Foundation for Cancer Research, an organization committed to declaring Victory Over Cancer®. The research the V Foundation funds is critical. By making a donation you will be supporting carefully vetted, cutting-edge research at prominent cancer centers nationwide. Will you join me in the fight against cancer by donating today? 

In July of 2001, I came home one evening from helping a friend move some heavy concrete stairs.  I had an uncomfortable feeling in my groin and upon examination discovered a lump in my right testicle.  Having a family history of testicular cancer (my cousin Craig) I had some education on this type of cancer.  I went and saw my urologist Dr. Roland Ugarte.  He came in wearing cowboy boots and I knew he was my guy!  They drew some blood and did some marker tests.  He told me with elevated HCG and AF markers, there was a very high probability that I had testicular cancer and the testicle needed to come out!  We schedule surgery and I remember sitting in the prep room, the nurse came in, looked at me, looked at my wife Karin (who was pregnant with our second daughter Erica) and they both started crying.  I thought, "what are you two crying about, I am the guy with cancer about to lose a testicle!"  The surgery went well and my markers came down.  Went and saw my oncologist, Dr. Nicole Hartung of MOHPA and she recommended a surveillance protocol.  I reached out to Dr. Larry Einhorn (he was Lance Armstrongs' Dr) and Dr. Einhorn was nice enough to review my case.   He concurred with surveillance. Now, this guy is the guy who did all the basic protocol work for using platinum based chemotherapy agents.  He basically is "The Guy" who  developed a cure for metastatic testicular cancer, which was mostly a death sentence for those who had this disease and it spread beyond the testicle (See movie Brians Song).  When he gives you advice, you take it.

Well, my surveillance protocol involved tumor markers every month, and CT scan every other month. In March 2002, my CT scan showed an enlarge abdominal lymph node.  Back on the phone with Dr, Einhorn and he said it was highly likely I had metastatic disease and that I should start chemotherapy.  I took the advice of a wonderful oncology nurse who said "go get a port put in".  Port is short for porta catheter, which is a device they put under your skin, feed a tube into your jugular vein and then down into the vena cava which is a large vein near the heart.  This way, they can easily infuse the chemotherapy drugs into a large volume of blood and not cause damage to the veins in the arm.  I took her advice.  One of the best decisions I ever made.  From here out, all the chemo went through he port and all my blood draws came out of the port.  

I got the drugs Platinol, etoposide, and bleomycin.  These were total ass kickers.  Daily infusions for the first week, then two Tuesdays in a row of bleomycin.  3 weeks equals one cycle.  I could not work, or do much of anything by drag my ass to chemo.  My mother Marie came up and stayed with the family and drove me to chemotherapy.  My father had recently passed away, she was retired and showed why she is one of the greatest moms in the world, hands down!  A retired nurse, caring for sick people and understanding medicine is her strong suit.  Karin was back to work.  We had 2 kids and life was upside down.  I went through 3 cycles of chemo, wishing on some days that I actually would die!  But, I made it through, the lymph node shrunk back down to normal size and here I am, celebrating 20 years of being cancer free.

Big shoutout to all of my Drs: Ugarte, Hartung, Einhorn.  All the best at what they do.  One side note, I did get a second opinions by going to the Mayo Clinic on Sept 11th, 2001.  Yes, that Sept. 11.  I walked into the urology ward to a crowd of people around the TV.  I watched poor souls jumping to their deaths to escape the burning world trade centers.  I met a guy at the oncology ward who had a brain tumor, with only 30 known cases of that type of cancer ever diagnosed in the world.   I got in my car and drove home that day, and learned a valuable lesson.  No matter what your problems are, there is somebody worse off than you.  Be thankful for what you have!

Now, please donate to the V Foundation.  Jim Valvano was a legend in his own time.  A great man, teacher, coach, husband and father.  The leader of one of the greatest sports teams and stories that you will ever find.  I was a high schooler when the NC State Wolfpack won the NCAA basketball title against all odds.  I remember watching Lorenzo Charles catch the missed shot, and put it in at the buzzer to wind the game.  Jimmy V died of cancer about 10 years later, but his legend lives on in the V Foundation.  100% of the money raised goes to cancer research!  Very few other charities can make this claim.  

About the V Foundation for Cancer Research

The V Foundation for Cancer Research was founded in 1993 by ESPN and the late Jim Valvano, legendary North Carolina State University basketball coach and ESPN commentator. The Foundation has funded nearly $290 million in cancer research grants nationwide. The V Foundation awards 100 percent of direct donations to cancer research and related programs. The V Foundation’s endowment covers administrative expenses. The Foundation awards peer-reviewed grants through a competitive award process strictly supervised by a Scientific Advisory Committee. For more information on the V Foundation, please visit v.org.