The final diagnosis and treatment plan
After weeks that have tested our patience, resilience, anger management skills and humor, we’ve come out on the other side with a plan and are ready to proceed. As was thought to be the case the last time I wrote, Mary Carol has a Sinonasal Undifferentiated Carcinoma (SNUC) with Neuroendocrine features in her ethmoid sinus. This is the sinus area between your eyes yet about a finger-lengths deep. From the traditional allopathic angle, MC will start her neoadjuvant chemotherapy this coming Thursday, January 10 th at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital. The specific chemotherapy given will be CAV (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and vincristine). The purpose of this chemotherapy is to shrink the tumor enough so that the surgeons can remove the tumor with as little disruption as possible to the surrounding areas. Due to the rarity of this type of cancer, there is no standard protocol for how to handle it. Penn advocates using neoadjuvant CVA chemotherapy be...