For the last few years, cancer has become less of a death sentence as new methods of treatment are now available. Yet some of these procedures may be too risky and challenging patients are often left to wonder why they are still alive.
This is what happened to Pam Pope, a 65-year-old who was diagnosed with a very rare cancer called pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP). Unlike other forms of cancer, which spread via the lymphatic system or the bloodstream, the cancer cells move around the abdomen, sticking to the walls and linings then forming mucus. The disease may begin in different parts of the body, but usually it starts in the appendix, where it grows as a polyp, before it spreads very slowly.
Because it's a slow-progressing type of cancer, it may take years before the initial symptoms appear. In Pam's case, she had to move from one GP to another as she battled nausea and abdominal pain. She was first diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome, although she instinctively knew that what she had was not IBS.
When she met with a new GP and talked about how her bowel movements had changed, her doctor then recommended a more thorough investigation through a series of tests that revealed she had "abnormal cells." She was later diagnosed with PMP.
The most basic and immediate treatment of PMP is surgery, but this is not the typical one where only one or two organs may be removed. It is considered the "mother of all surgeries" since the doctors have to take away as many affected organs as they can in order to save the patient's life and eventually stop or significantly reduce the presence of cancer cells in the abdomen.
With Pam, she lost her appendix, gall bladder, uterus, fallopian tube, cervix, large intestine, and a huge portion of her small intestine, to name a few.
She also underwent a radical chemotherapy where the hot medication is allowed to linger in her abdominal cavity to kill the cancer cells that might have remained as the doctors cannot remove all the affected organs.
To cope especially with the loss of several organs, Pam went through counselling. She also receives drips to combat dehydration and has gone back to work, at least part time.
