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Keaulani Ordonio-Carter
Pancreatic Cancer Patient

In early 2005, Keaulani Ordonio-Carter decided to go on a diet.

At first, she had great difficulty shedding pounds, but the weight soon "literally began melting off real fast," in her words. Ordonio-Carter also began feeling nauseous, especially when she ate.

It turns out she had advanced pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest cancers. An oncologist gave her three to four months to live. The end seemed near after a surgeon had aborted an operation, because Ordonio-Carter’s cancer had wrapped itself around an artery connecting her pancreas to her stomach.

Ordonio-Carter’s tragic story would have likely ended there if not for the intervention of Dr. Kenneth Chang, director of the H.H. Chao Comprehensive Digestive Disease Center, a leader in the treatment and diagnoses of pancreatic and other cancers.

After learning of her condition, Dr. Chang invited Ordonio-Carter to participate in a clinical trial for an experimental gene therapy he helped pioneer. She spent six weeks under his care, during which Dr. Chang injected her tumor with specially engineered non-replicating viruses that carry a cancer-fighting protein gene. In the end, the gene therapy worked. Ordonio-Carter’s cancerous tumor shrunk to such an extent that doctors could now operate on her.

A few weeks later, Dr. David Imagawa, medical director of the UC Irvine Medical Center’s hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery program, removed 20 percent of Ordonio-Carter’s pancreas and 30 percent of her stomach.

Today, the Santa Ana resident feels better than she has in years and enjoys outings to her favorite fabric and crafts stores. Little by little, she has reclaimed her life, and even plans this summer to visit her two sons and grandchildren in Seattle and Oklahoma City.

That Ordonio-Carter has survived pancreatic cancer for so long is nothing short of a miracle, and a testament to the exceptional and compassionate care she received at UC Irvine Medical Center.

Even though Ordonio-Carter still undergoes chemotherapy once every three weeks, she feels "grateful for every day I have, even the bad ones."

She also feels grateful to one particular physician who made a difference.

"Dr. Chang is my guardian angel," she said. "Without that gene therapy, I wouldn’t be here. He saved my life."

Learn more about Dr. Chang »

Learn more about Dr. Imagawa »