My 10-year-old son has recently been to pioneer week where he goes to his new secondary school for a week to experience life there. He was asked to write about someone who inspires them. He just told me that he wrote about me and how well I dealt with my operation and chemotherapy afterwards.
He doesn’t talk much about what we went through but when he does he surprises me how much it really affected him. He was only eight. Be brave, everyone, no matter what stage you are at with this dreadful disease.
In case you missed it...
I was devastated at first as I am a single parent
Before I was diagnosed, I suffered from abdominal pain and tiredness. I felt full quickly after only eating small amounts. I saw various doctors who gave me a diagnosis between appendix, ovaries and bowel but no firm diagnosis.
My stomach looked really distended
When we got home from a family holiday and I looked at the photos, my stomach looked really distended. After noticing this, it just seemed to get worse and felt quite hard. I went to see the Doctor and he said I probably had wind or had just put on weight.
My PMP journey and why I’m doing my bit to raise awareness
I was diagnosed with PMP aged 32, after many months of stomach pains, bloating, constipation and irregular periods. After numerous trips to my GP, which led to an ultrasound and eventually a CT scan, I was told I had a nine centimetre tumour on my appendix which had burst and leaked cancerous mucin into my abdominal cavity.
My wife Susmita Roy also diagnosed pseudomyxoma peritonei low grade. Earlier doctor told benign after surgery and removal of reproductive organs. Wait and watch, doing ct & marker tests on recurring go for cytoreductive surgery with HIPEC. She undergone this on 16 March 2018, now after ICU going to Room for next few days before discharge, looking for post-surgery treatment, care to get over recovery and complete cure. Jayant Roy Mumbai India, advice awaited.
We have no idea about how extensive the impact felt by families (& friends) is, especially for the young, when a close member has endured this MOAS operation. It must be so traumatic for them too. Being brave ..and resilient is hard. Your son is justifiably proud of you & how wonderful that he does open up to you – this is an important message to all who are going through this terrible experience.