Stories
Meet our inspiring survivors
When you’re faced with life and death, you choose life
I was 35 and had only just embarked on what should have been the most exciting chapter of my life so far. I was living in Australia with my girlfriend Laura, and whilst working on making the most of the hospitality and weather.
But the care-free life we were just starting to enjoy wasn’t to last, and in a devastating turn of fortunes we were faced with a choice that no one should have to consider; life or death.
Feeling proud
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.
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. I was admitted to Gosford Hospital on February 11th, 2014 as they couldn’t diagnose what was causing the severe discomfort I was having. After being in hospital for eight days, it was discovered that I had pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP).
Lisa takes part in a photoshoot
Following the Loose Women Body Stories campaign, Lisa took part in a photo shoot organised by The Sun newspaper. We caught up with her and talked to her about the shoot and raising awareness of pseudomyxoma peritonei.
I had cytoreduction and HIPEC and now I’ve climbed Mount Kilimanjaro!
My local hospital happens to be the centre in Israel for treating this disease and two of the surgeons working there have extensive experience in performing cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC. To those of you have undergone this procedure, I don’t need to say more. If you are still recovering or about to undergo it, I wish you excellent care, strength, patience, and a complete recovery.
I had shortness of breath and my sides ached
I was experiencing shortness of breath and my sides ached when walking around, nothing specific. I had an ultrasound which showed a large tumor which was confirmed by MRI. I had surgery at my local hospital to remove a tumor the size of a football and my diagnosis of pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) was confirmed.
I was admitted to hospital with abdominal pain and operated on the next day
On March 1st 2016, I was admitted to hospital with abdominal pain and operated on the next day. The surgeon found a tumour in my appendix and mucin throughout my abdomen. My story is about what happened next, my surgery, coping with the stress and the positives that came out of it.
My Olympic Victory
Four years ago, I had to give up my ticket to watch the London Olympics to go to a hospital appointment and be told I had PMP and had only ‘a few months’ if Basingstoke could not offer me CRS and HIPEC. Now I’m in Rio!
Being sick
The last year and a half has been a profound and unmooring experience, and one I turn over in my mind with gratitude, disbelief, and amazement.
Shana raises awareness
Shana shared her story about appendix cancer on KVUE and had a blog post published to support it.
Too young for cancer
It’s tough being only 20 years old and an appendix cancer patient at that. Mainly because no one expects or even wants to believe you could even end up developing cancer, and the worst culprits are medical professionals. True, the odds are so low it’s a waste of time to even bother, but that ‘waste of time’ could have cost me my life!
Don’t give up hope!
On February 2nd, 2011, my appendix burst and I had an operation in Burton-on-Trent. I was 36. On March 7th, I received a letter from the hospital saying I’d missed a follow-up appointment for a suspected case of PMP. I hadn’t received the original letter and just what was PMP? I looked it up on the internet.
I was convinced I had gallstones but it wasn’t gallstones
After an elderly relative was admitted to hospital with gallstones and, after researching her symptoms online, I was convinced I had the same problem. I pestered my GP to refer me for an ultrasound which eventually showed I had no gallstones, but “a fair amount” of fluid around my liver.
I knew that I didn’t have textbook appendicitis but does anyone really have “textbook appendicitis”?
I cried as I was driving home from my doctor’s appointment. Then I picked myself up when I got home and googled “low grade mucinous appendiceal neoplasm” because I needed to know everything about this new enemy. That’s when I found the term pseudomyxoma peritonei.
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.
Are you an appendix cancer or pseudomyxoma peritonei survivor?
We'd love to read your story
Many people find it helps to talk about their experiences. This can be helpful for others who are going through the same. We always respect your privacy — there is no expectation for you to provide a story to fully participate in our support groups or buddy scheme nor to publicly share personal details such as your name or a photograph. We are happy to support however much, or how little, you want to share with others.
If you would like to share your story with us and with other survivors, we’d love you to get in touch with us!