Carol Higgins Clark

Carol Higgins Clark, New York Times best-selling mystery author and daughter of author Mary Higgins Clark, was diagnosed with Stage 4 appendix cancer in late 2020. Appendix cancer is a rare and severe disease, which can be very challenging to treat as it is often discovered after the tumor has burst through the appendix spreading cancer cells throughout the abdomen. This is the case with Carol, made more difficult because she has one of the more aggressive types: goblet cell with signet ring cell features. Due to the aggressive behavior of Carol’s cancer and the disease burden already present at the time of discovery, she was advised that any treatment would likely have limited effect in prolonging her life for any significant time.