Carol DeSanctis

11/27/2009 11:57 AM

Dear Friends,

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Rich and I enjoyed dinner and laughs with the DeSanctis siblings and spouses, as well as Nikki and Sam.

Thanksgiving was a welcome opportunity to celebrate after a long day of doctor's appointments on Wednesday (November 25th). I was scheduled to see Dr. Holloway at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday morning. In preparation for this appointment, he had ordered a CAT scan and the normal tumor marker test (CA-125) to assist him in determining the future course of treatment for the cancer. Rich and I fully expected that he would prescribe additional rounds of chemotherapy, with a surgery some time in the future. Boy, were we surprised!

My CA-125 has continued to drop, however, according to the CAT scan the tumor had not shrunk. After a moment of pondering, Dr. Holloway decided that it was time to do surgery in order to remove the tumor. As he is going out of town on Wednesday, he decided Monday (November 30th) would be best. In the following hours I had a chest X-ray, EKG, blood work, 2-hour kidney scan, and an appointment with a surgeon who may assist if it is warranted. Dr. Holloway is rather impressive in his ability to make things happen.... When that man makes a decision, the entire hospital seems to jump! It was a long day... 10+ hours to be exact... but we are ready for Monday's surgery.

As I mentioned, the purpose of the surgery is to remove the tumor. Due to the placement of the tumor on the CAT scan, Dr. Holloway has recruited a urologist to assist if need be.

Thank you so much for all of your thoughts and prayers. I know that I am in good hands, and with all of your thoughts and prayers behind me, I shall be blessed.

Rich and Nikki will be with me all week in Orlando. We expect that I will be in the hospital for at least 5 days. Rich and Nikki will also be sending out periodic updates via e-mail.

As always,

Carol and Rich

Update from Carol