This story is part of a series of member spotlights, featuring players of all ages and skillsets.

Back in February, our team received an email from David Landers. He shared with us the story of his friend Thom, who was diagnosed on November 7th 2019 with stage 3 esophageal cancer and then diagnosed with brain cancer on December 31st 2020. Chemo and radiation immediately took a hard effect on Thom so Dave took him out on the course. From there it transcended into something completely different. Unable to work, Thom used disc golf as a way to get out.

Dave Landers and Thom Shearer

• Name: Thom Shearer
• Member #: 154152
• Age: 47
• Hometown: Keene, New Hampshire; Currently in Los Osos, California

Favorite course: Dairy Creek Disc Golf Course San Luis Obispo, CA.
18 holes Pro/AM Tees. The course is tough, with breath taking views of the mountains surrounding Los Osos (my home is 5 mins away). I wish it wasn't pay to play, but well worth it. I'd play it every day if it was free. 

Profession: Musician
GoWesty is my former employer (located in Los Osos, CA). They specialize in Westfalia & VW Buses, parts & camping products. They are a major supporter and sponsor for my disc golf adventures. Really, without their support I would not be able to travel and register for tournaments. 

Thom taught drums as a high school percussion coach for years.

You can learn more about his percussion career on the Innovative Percussion and Pearl Drums sites.

Thom felt more comfortable doing a video interview. Hear from Thom in his own words in the video below (it's 12 minutes long but it goes by way too fast). 

My dog Marty, she is a lab mix & comes often to the course with me as well as all of my treatments and doctor appointments. In one photo she is 8 weeks old as a puppy, the other photo she is 7 months. She is currently 8 months old (as of March 1, 2022).

Some snippets from the video:

Disc golf came about at a time when the world also stopped. The pandemic started. I got cancer. No family or friends. No one could travel. It became this escape, to get out. So, that was a huge thing about it. Teaching music: school stopped, music stopped basically. So everything I'd known for 40 years of my life was over basically.

2019 I was over 300 pounds, so I literally lost one of me. So in some odd strange ways, cancer has maybe saved my life. It's a bizarre thing you've got in the back of your head there's definitely the thought of knowing what you're going to die from and quite possibly how long. But, it gives you a different perspective of everything you look at and do now.

It gets me out of the house everyday. And it gives me the opportunity when I'm out playing to not think about all the medical problems and what may come. It's kind of like a zen moment.

Is there anything else you'd like to share with the disc golf community?

I think everyone is doing a great job of growing the sport. Pick up your trash; don't be one of those people. And I guess if you do have brain cancer, don't bump your head on the tree branches. That can hurt a lot. Thank you for this opportunity. I don't know what you'll get out of this, if anything, but I appreciate it. I owe a lot of this to Dave, who got me out one day.

Shared from Thom after the interview, but before its publishing:

Hi Jennie,

I wanted to share this with you...this past weekend I played in a PDGA C-tier event...MA40. San Luis Obispo Dairy Creek DGC. 2 rounds. 29,000 steps.

I won!

Normally I'm towards the bottom, for a number of reasons...fatigue, getting sick in the middle of a round, etc...cancer junk.

I'm very proud of myself, not for the win but for what it took to get to that moment. 3 years of battling cancer with no (medical) wins...This was a very emotional moment for me. I thanked disc golf as I made my final putt for this moment. The gift of life. 

Thank you so much.

Thom

For the record: we got a lot out of this. Thank you Thom for being a PDGA member and sharing your disc golf experience with all of us. Thank you Dave for introducing all of us to Thom and for being such a good friend. You can keep up with Thom on Instagram. 🍩