Thomas Casey will be making his 16th swim this year to raise money for people battling cancer.
Casey, 57, flies to his hometown of Bridgeport, Connecticut each summer to participate in the annual SWIM Across the Sound — a 15.5-mile swim marathon stretching from Port Jefferson, New York to Bridgeport — helping to raise $2.5 million each year.
It wasn’t until 2012, though, that he found out that he also is dealing with the disease.
(Photos courtesy of Thomas Casey)
When he was diagnosed with Stage IV renal cell carcinoma — the most common form of kidney cancer — it came without warning.
The Lutz resident said there was “no history of cancer” in his family.
He was diagnosed shortly before he was scheduled to make the trip to Bridgeport.
“Six weeks before the event, I went to the doctor’s (office) because I was having pain in my left side, and I found out I had diverticulitis, and he said, ‘Oh, and by the way, your left kidney is filled with cancer,’” Casey said. “Being told you have cancer, everybody says the same thing: ‘It’s like you got hit by a freight train,’ and it’s true.”
Casey acknowledges it’s a strange feeling — to know he is the only member of his family to be stricken with the disease.
“I’ve got three brothers and a sister with no cancer,” he said. “I’m the only one…out of my family that does any kind of (cancer) fundraising, and I get it. But, I don’t take it that way, and I never say, ‘Why me?’ I don’t have that attitude.”
Even after having his kidney removed, the cancer had spread to his arms, where tumors were virtually breaking the bones in half.
With the help of Dr. David Cheong, an orthopaedic oncologist, Casey had both tumors removed. To reinforce the upper-arm bone, known as the humerus, in both of Casey’s arms, the doctor inserted two 10 ½-inch plates to provide both mechanical and rotational stability.
“Humeral shaft tumors can be particularly devastating because they run the length of the bone,” said Cheong, a surgeon with Orthopaedic Associates of West Florida in Clearwater.
“Patients generally need extensive therapy to regain normal function,” the surgeon said.
However, Casey was a rare case.
The Lutz resident’s recovery went so well so quickly that he is able to swim a mile (72 lengths) three to four days a week.
“The doctor that has rebuilt me is totally amazing. I can not thank Dr. Cheong and the other professionals enough that have worked with me,” said Casey, who’s already booked his trip for the 2016 SWIM Across the Sound event.
“I don’t know if any other person could have done what he did. …For what he’s done for me, I am totally, wholeheartedly grateful.”
(Courtesy of Ashley Pontius)
“If you see me, you would not believe that I have these rods in my arms, and am still able to swim and raise money for the foundation up there,” he said.
While he knows the clear cell carcinoma is still in his body and “isn’t going anywhere,” Casey uses swimming as a coping mechanism.
“You think, and you kind of dream when you’re in the water. I think a lot about what’s coming up,” said Casey, who’s been a swimmer for more than half his life. “I can’t work anymore; the one thing I can do is swim. Not to be able to swim anymore would probably upset me.”
According to Dr. Cheong, it’s important for cancer patients like Casey to have an activity where they can focus their energy.
“I have always known Thomas to be a highly motivated individual with goals and aspirations to beat cancer and maintain an active lifestyle,” the surgeon said. “I believe that this attitude is the single most important aspect to a patient’s recovery and success.”
Casey also puts it on himself to speak to others about the deadly disease. He said that having open discussions about cancer has helped him deal with it.
“I don’t like sitting at home all day. I try to do things, but I don’t let this (cancer) depress me at all,” Casey said.
Casey has had radiation three times, but has never undergone chemotherapy.
Casey acknowledges that with Stage IV cancer, “the worst is yet to come.”
But, he doesn’t let the thought disturb him.
“Technically I should be dead now. But, it’s not killed me yet, and I keep fighting it,” he said, noting the typical life expectancy is two years for someone with his type of cancer.
What bothers him most is seeing children who have cancer, Casey said.
“I’ve lived 57 years and these children, basically, have not lived,” Casey said.
Published March 30, 2016