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The Di erence a
              Specialist Makes




              Lisa Minuto is the kind of person who doesn’t
              even take aspirin. All her life, she has been
              exercising and eating healthy. Her family has no
              alarming medical history. So when her health took
              a nosedive, it caught her completely o guard.


                 H        ave you lost weight?” It was just
                          three pounds—something only
                          a sister or close friend would
                          notice. Lisa Minuto has always
              been fit and healthy. Still, she was pleased by
              her sister’s comment last Thanksgiving. Within
              a few weeks, however, it became clear the
              weight loss was not a reason to celebrate, but
              a warning sign things were about to get really   Lisa and Greg Minuto enjoy time with their three
              bad really fast.                            kids, Greg, Adam and Natalie, on a family vacation
                 Lisa started having discomfort in her    to Block Island, Rhode Island.
              abdomen throughout November and December
              of €‚€ƒ. The symptoms came and went, and she
              started to wonder if she was developing IBS or   “From there everything happened super fast.”
              colitis. As Christmastime drew near, the    A CAT scan showed a narrowing in her colon.
              episodes got worse and Lisa made an         A colonoscopy failed because an obstruction
              appointment with a gastroenterologist.       prevented the instrument from passing. At last,
                “But the day I went to the appointment     a biopsy revealed the case of Lisa’s mysterious
              I felt fine. I had no symptoms, I felt good and   symptoms and weight loss: she had a malignant
              looked good,” she recalls. The doctor was    tumor in the lower part of her colon.
              completely unconcerned and scheduled Lisa     “I couldn’t believe this was happening to
              for a colonoscopy for early February—six     me—I still can’t believe it,” says Lisa. “I’ve never
              weeks away.                                  been sick my whole life. I’ve always worked
                 Lisa, who is not an alarmist by any means,   out. We eat a healthy diet. I don’t take any
              was alarmed. Six weeks seemed like too long   medication, not even aspirin. One day I was
              to wait. The doctor told her if she felt anxious,  healthy; the next day I wasn’t.”
              she could collect a stool sample and send it to
              a lab for testing. She did, but before the   “That’s Not Going to be Easy”
              results even came back, Lisa ended up in the
              emergency room.                             After hearing the diagnosis, Greg said what
                                                           Lisa was also thinking: “We have to get you
             “One Day I Was Healthy;                       into Sloan Kettering.”
              The Next Day I Wasn’t”                        “That’s not going to be easy,” Lisa replied.
                                                             Born and raised New Yorkers, Lisa and Greg
              In early January, Lisa’s husband, Greg, found   knew of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer
              her on the bathroom floor unable to get up,  Center’s reputation for unparalleled cancer
              he called an ambulance.                      treatment and research.



              4  Healthnetwork Foundation | www.healthnetworkfoundation.org




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