At 29 years old, Thomas was recently diagnosed on August 14, 2025 with Stage II Bulky Primary Mediastinal Large B-Cell Lymphoma (PMBCL), a rare and aggressive type of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, a type of blood cancer that makes up only 2-4% of NHL with no known cause. If you don’t know Thomas, he is a truth-seeking Christ follower, a fiercely loyal friend, beloved son, classic and goofy younger brother, devoted husband, and an empathetic, passionate dentist. Thomas brings joy to everyone around him, whether he's playing basketball, debating, or sharing his passion for dentistry. He is loved by so many people, and we are grateful for the prayers and support that have surrounded us and held us up. It all started with symptoms in June of this year with chest and back pain, coughing, fatigue, night sweats, and weight loss. On our 5th wedding anniversary at the end of June, Thomas coughed up some blood and decided, along with these other persistent symptoms that he thought had been attributed to increased weight lifting, to go to urgent care. (I was thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail at the time). They decided to do a chest x-ray to be on the safe side and found a mass roughly the size of a softball between his heart and his lung. Needless to say, that was a really scary day for Thomas being alone and not knowing what next steps were. I immediately came off the trail and over the next month and a half we went through numerous scans, bloodwork, biopsies, and specialist visits to confirm the cancer diagnosis. The great news is that due to Thomas’ age, health, etc, we were told our prognosis at 5 years with progression free remission is 94%. This was a huge relief and joy from what we expected and this is mainly due to how early we discovered the tumor and to a newer chemo regimen for PMBCL called R-EPOCH. This chemotherapy is given over 5 days via a pump (typically outpatient but can be inpatient depending on complications) and they change out medications every 48 hrs. In short, Thomas has a very treatable and curable cancer, but it will be a difficult and uncertain 4.5 months to get through such an intense chemo regimen. We are receiving treatment and care at Emory Winship (WINSHIP- LET’S GO!!!) Cancer Institute in ATL and will start chemo on August 28, with 6 rounds spaced about 3 weeks apart. Thomas will most likely lose all his hair and will have to take some time off work depending on fatigue and risk of infection, etc. Your support will go directly toward grocery bills, travel expenses, paying our medical costs upfront while we wait to be reimbursed through our Christian health sharing ministry (Samaritan Ministries), and other essential expenses. Each chemotherapy cycle is costing almost $40,00, totaling about $225,000 after 6 treatments. We are amazed at how the Lord orchestrated everything so we could be part of this health care sharing ministry before any of Thomas’s symptoms began. Donations will go towards easing the financial burden and helping pay towards our payment plans until we can get reimbursed 2-3 months after we submit our bills. This support can allow Thomas to fully focus on fighting this cancer through chemotherapy treatment and on his recovery and healing without added stress while I seek to take care of him and all the other things! Our friends and family have already offered incredible support, and we plan to set up opportunities for loved ones to spend time with Thomas during his treatment through GiveInKind. We do prefer donations through this site with gift cards and Venmo as gofundme does take a portion of your donations. If you would like to provide a meal, please reach out to us to coordinate a time! This journey has been a roller coaster, but we have felt deeply loved and supported by our community and have experienced peace and comfort through our faith in the steadfastness of Jesus. We hope to glorify God through every step, trusting in Him alone. Your help, presence, and provision are truly being the hands and feet of Jesus to us. Every donation, share, and prayer will help ease our burdens and allow Thomas to focus on his fight and recovery, knowing we are not going through this valley alone. With love and humble gratitude, Thomas and Olivia Shepherd