I had just celebrated my 60th birthday, one of our sons and his wife were due a new baby and we already have two granddaughters. In June 2007, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I was fortunate enough to be treated by a wonderful surgeon, Mr. Roger Slade. He just said that he would remove this “mass” and take it from there.
A few days after the surgery he came to tell me that in his opinion it was not ovarian cancer but which he had seen before. I recovered quickly and was then passed over to The Christie Hospital in Manchester for treatment in their clinic.
In March the following year, I had further surgery to remove the spleen, gall bladder and naval, plus “chemo wash“. I had been thrown a lifeline. Far better to have pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) than ovarian cancer.
When I was in the hospital there was a man in his late 70s and a 17-year-old. This can hit anyone!
I go to The Christie every six months for a scan because there are still a few bits of the disease left but as yet there has not been any growth. I keep my fingers crossed; I feel fine, have gained weight and the new baby I thought I would not see is four and she has a sister now! We have now been retired for eight years and we had a great trip to New York last year as you can see from the photo.
I survived the shock of it all and the surgery. I also found out once again what a wonderful husband I have. His support was and still is unfailing. We travel a lot and enjoy our grandchildren, what more could I need?
– Ruth
In case you missed it...
Why you should see a PMP specialist
I can’t say it enough… are you dealing with a PMP specialist? If not, I would say you must.
They are the ones that have seen this stuff and the weird things it does. They can give better ideas as to what to do.
In my case, waiting seemed the best option at the time but with the specialist’s input, I chose to go ahead and now, even with the debt, the new body norms and everything, I am sooooo glad I followed his advice! He would have told me to watch and wait if in his experience there was a low risk. And I would have done it.
Jill’s Book Review
I was really positive about my recovery after the major operation for pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP). I took things really slowly and took good care of myself.
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 mum has just had a hysterectomy (2 weeks ago) and the Dr discovered that she has PMP. Mum is 87! She is a wonderful person and has recovered so well from this operation and is in great form. A extremely fit and well woman for her years. She has never displayed any symptons etc. Unfortunately as we live in NI the type of operation cannot be done here, therefore Mum would need to travel accross the water.
Is there anyone out there of similar age who has had this type of cancer?
Thanks xx
Hi, not quite your mum’s age,but by mum was diagnosed in December 2009 aged 72. She had her MAOS in March 2010 at Basingstoke x
Good to hear you’re doing so well and have been able to get to the USA – I have just been diagnosed and was worried I would not be able to get travel insurance – in fact we have a trip to Florida booked in April that I’m waiting to hear if we’re going to have to cancel x