In the early morning of Jan. 31, 2009, I was preparing to head to Rusty's in Arlington, TX for the first stop of the OB Cues Ladies' 9-Ball Tour.  Tony got up and wasn't feeling well.  He asked me to take him to see the doctor instead of playing, so I did.  The doctor thought he had a urinary tract infection and gave him a shot and prescription, then sent him on his way. Sunday morning he passed a "thing", so we froze it and went back to the doctor on Monday.

"What is that?" is exactly what the doctor said.

He ordered 2 CAT scans for that Thursday, by Friday morning early he called and told us to get him to the Cancer Center IMMEDIATELY.

Tony has very agressive colon cancer. This past month has been a flurry of doctors, hospitals and a shitload of just waiting for news. He had a colon-oscopy on Wednesday the 11th of February... I'm not even going to try to spell things right. The news was very bad... however, Thursday morning they scoped his bladder (through the penis, he's very cranky about that...) and the news was better. Although they thought the tumor is very large (the GI guy told me it was the largest tumor he's ever seen), the tumor was "mobile", which means it hadn't attached to anything other than the bladder (from the colon).

So the "inoppera-able" tumor became "opera-able".  On Feb. 16th, a tumor the size of a grapefruit was removed from Tony's colon and bladder.  They had to remove 14 inches of his colon, which was far less than they orginally thought they needed to take.  But they had to remove 2/3rds of his bladder, which was not expected.  They thought it as only a small hole in the bladder.  The best news, however, was that they think they have removed it all.

After his bladder and colon heal up, he will start chemo for a duration of about 6 months.  They said it was Stage IV, which means it is not a question of "if" it recurs, but "when"... he will have to monitor this for the rest of his life.  

Tony finally was allowed to leave the hospital on Feb. 23rd.  As of May 12, 2009, the medical bills have gone over $25,000.

On March 28, Luke's Sports Bar and Grill hosted a benefit 9-Ball Tournament for my significant other, Tony Sulsar...



Entry fee was $20 per person and it was handicapped.  There were raffles and a silent auction to raise money to help Tony and I with his rising medical expenses, as well as basic needs while he is off work.

A partial list of items that were raffled or auctioned:

• Wes Hunter Cue and It's George case
• Dallas Stars tickets (on the glass)
• copy of "Pool Wars" (signed and donated by Jay Helfert plus some DVD's )
• A set of Brand New Tires (H+H Tires local business)
• Transmission service
• Custom Tattoo (Scott Shimer, one of the best around)
• Jump Cue (Cristina De La Garza)
• Tapes (new) from (Bert and Orietta Kinister)
• Color Printer (new in the box)
• Poster sized Birkbeck Print <-- very nice and rare
• 1 day of Pool School (compliments of Cue-Tech Pool School in Richardson, TX)
• WPBA memorabilia
• Signed Ralph Souquet cueball
• Metal Sculptures

With a field of 72 players, a silent auction, raffles, and a "Challenge Tony" table, a large crowd gathered to support Tony in his battle against colon cancer. 

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