Louie's Fight: Tumor Removal and Recovery

Hello my name is Luis Santos, a husband and father of two teenagers, but everyone calls me “Louie”. On February 28th I received the devestating news that I had a tumor on the connective tissue of my small intestine and that it was attached to blood vessels that feed the intestines.

The tumor had to be removed immediately and because the blood vessels would also be removed, unfortunately a significant portion of my intestines will die and will also need to be removed.

To determine how much of the small intestines were impacted and to ensure the tumor had not spread, further testing was completed. Unfortunately, the test results confirmed that not only the tumor had spread to the large intestine but it had also spread to the liver.

This made the process much more complicated and serious because any potential cancer cell would be developed in the liver.

On March 17th surgery was performed and a significant amount of the intestines were

removed along with the tumors and blood vessels. The gallbladder was also removed because this type of tumor likes to migrate to this organ. A portion of the liver with the tumor was removed and sent to pathology to determine if the tumor is benign or malignant.

Once results are confirmed further treatment will be required to eliminate the three tumors that spread to the liver. This ongoing treatment could be chemotherapy, surgery and any other process that will help eliminate the tumors.

I am very greatfull that I have medical insurance. However, the insurance does not cover all the expenses. There is still out of pocket expenses that need to be payed as part of this ongoing process that could last several years. Examples of these expenses are copays, transportation, lodging, and CTSCANS done before my medical benefits became available for me.

Thank you all for your time, prayers and thoughts. I really appreciate you reading and understanding that this is a very critical stage in my life where above all things your prayers for me and my family are very valuable.