Tony Marinelli has been a Sandwich resident since 1980. In 1987 he established a very successful computer
business on Cape Cod which covered the entire New England area. In 1993 he founded Calvary Chapel Cape
Cod and became Senior Pastor until his illness in 2008. He is 58 years old and father of six wonderful children
and grandfather of eleven. In 2007 he was diagnosed with Leukemia (CLL). He began aggressive chemotherapy in 2008. During that time he developed a very rare autoimmune disease called Paraneoplastic Pemphigus (PNP). He was hospitalized for six months, four of which were at Mass. General. This disease caused him to lose his eye sight, his eating and swallowing capabilities, and his voice. He has a feeding tube for nourishment and a tracheostomy tube so he can breathe. Against all odds, Tony’s faith has kept him fighting and has now been home for nearly five years. The past years have been very challenging for us. Tony at this
time is not a candidate for esophageal surgery. Therefore, he will not be able to swallow, speak or breath without assistance. On a positive note, in 2011 he was given an artificial cornea which has given him limited eye sight. Both his CLL and PNP became active again this Spring. As a result Tony needed to receive 4 months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. It went well and we began to see improvements. However, the lymph nodes have now begun to swell once more. Therefore, Tony will be going through a longer period of radiation for the next few months beginning at the end of July and possibly more chemotherapy treatments after that.
