When Jeremy started to feel sick and bloated, he and his primary care doctor originally thought he was suffering from some sort of GI ailment. However, following a trip to the emergency room, Jeremy found out his condition was much worse than he feared.
He was diagnosed with mucinous ascites and pseudomyxoma peritonei–a rare type of mucinous cancer caused by a ruptured appendix cancer.
While undergoing chemotherapy, Jeremy asked if surgery was an option for this type of cancer. His oncologist referred him to Dr. Thomas Miner, chief of Brown Surgical Associates’ Surgical Oncology Division and one of the foremost experts in treating this form of cancer.
The complex surgery involves two stages. First, is cytoreduction, which involves open abdominal surgery to remove all of the cancerous tissue. It’s followed up by hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy or HIPEC – which is an infusion of heated chemotherapy drugs to kill any stray cancer cells that may have been left behind.
