John went into hospital for a hernia operation. Afterwards, he was told that it wasn’t a hernia but a ‘small, bloody mass’. The pathology came back as pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP).
Survivor’s Story (Australia) articles
I had flu-like symptoms and was diagnosed with PMP
Initially, I had flu-like symptoms with pain in all the joints in my body followed by bad abdominal pain that did not go away.
My baby and obstetrician saved my life!
I had a caesarean section on July 12th. This took 35 min and I was delivered of a beautiful, healthy, big baby boy, weighing in at 3820 grams/8.6 pounds. During my normal c-section, I had a further operation, an ’emergency appendectomy’. I had two masses removed and further testing showed they were both cancerous tumours and I was diagnosed with pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP). I was told I would have to have further treatment in the future. The tumours showed two different types of cancer, carcinoid & appendiceal mucinous tumours.
Marilyn’s Story
When my doctor told me what he had discovered during surgery for a suspected ovarian tumour, I could barely pronounce the words let alone understand what it might mean for me.
An ultrasound showed cystic masses in both ovaries
My initial symptom was a tiny pain (feel like pins and needles) from my lower abdomen, it only last a couple of seconds, it came and went. I was a healthy, active mum filled with energy and a busy lifestyle.
My pseudomyxoma peritonei was discovered during a proctocolectomy
My PMP was discovered during a proctocolectomy¹ for what was thought to be an uncontrollable flare-up of Ulcerative Colitis.
I felt uneasy, something was wrong but I couldn’t pin anything down
I had just had blood tests for my quickly approaching 40th but nothing had reared its head. Was I drinking too many coke zeros, at one a day? Time to give them up. Was I lactose intolerant, coeliacs? Nothing like self-diagnosis!