My pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) was discovered during a proctocolectomy¹ for what was thought to be an uncontrollable flare-up of Ulcerative Colitis. This turned into surgery to remove everything the mucin had touched in May 2001. I received heated chemotherapy during surgery ten days later. My surgeries were at Ashford Hospital, Adelaide and my surgeon was Professor Peter Hewett. My pathology was appendiceal mucosa cystadenoma presenting as pseudomyxoma peritonei.
– Kay
Proctocolectomy
A proctocolectomy is an operation where the rectum and all or part of the colon is removed.
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Janesa’s journey with pseudomyxoma peritonei
The most common question I get asked is “How did you know something was wrong?”. So, here’s the story.
Receiving a diagnosis
My original symptom was an ‘irritated‘ bladder — it is difficult to describe but the closest I can come up with it that it felt like it was vibrating all the time. In March 2010, after several months of bladder discomfort and many trips to my GP, I was referred to the genito-urinary clinic at my local University hospital with suspected bladder prolapse. Eventually, this lead to a diagnosis of pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP).
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.