Jo Gilfedder, a 54-year-old nurse practitioner, initially attributed her growing stomach to age. However, she soon discovered a satsuma-sized lump which led to a diagnosis of pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP), a rare abdominal cancer. Despite her medical background, she had never heard of PMP. The diagnosis was confirmed after multiple scans and consultations, revealing a tumor connected to her appendix. The surgery to remove the tumor and affected organs took six to eight hours. PMP, often mistaken for ovarian cancer initially, is difficult to detect and can spread within the abdominal cavity. It's a slow-growing cancer that doesn't spread through the blood or lymph system, but its symptoms can be similar to other cancers.
For more information on PMP visit pseudomyxomasurvivor.orgLike many women post-menopause, Jo Gilfedder put her noticeably bigger, wobblier tummy down to her age.
Back at her GP after the scan, she was given blood tests and told that her scan showed a mass on her ovaries so she was referred to the gynaecology department of the Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham. This team said that the CT scan showed a jelly-like appearance – which was indicative of a build-up of mucin, a gelatinous fluid that is characteristic of PMP, or pseudomyxoma peritonei. Jo was told this is a very rare type of abdominal cancer, which typically starts in the appendix .
Reading up on PMP, Jo quickly realised just how serious it was – and learned that her prognosis depended on how much of the cancer could be removed during surgery. ‘As a mother of four, my biggest fear was that doctors would say that there was nothing they could do to help,’ she says. Read More How could I have a rare liver cancer with an abysmal survival rate: Royal commentator KATIE NICHOLL ‘The cells produce a thick, jelly-like substance called mucin which collects inside the abdomen. The build-up of mucin causes symptoms such as abdominal swelling which is why PMP is sometimes referred to as “jelly belly”.’
‘This treatment is only offered at specialist centres in the UK – at The Christie in Manchester, we do over 150 of these operations each year,’ says Ms Fish.‘The operation involves stripping away the lining of the abdominal cavity and, depending on the organs affected by the disease, might also involve removal of the gallbladder, spleen, parts of the bowel, and in women the ovaries and sometimes the womb.
‘However, if the cancer is confined to the appendix, or there is limited spread inside the abdomen, treatment with surgery is very effective. If all the disease can be cleared during cytoreductive surgery, the prognosis is very good; five-year survival is between 75-95 per cent depending on the grade of the tumour.’
Surgeons took out Jo’s fallopian tubes, ovaries, spleen, gallbladder, the omentum – even her tummy button had to be removed, ‘because it’s inverted and so there was a risk that cancer could hide there’, says Jo. ‘It’s weird not having one!’
PMP Pseudomyxoma Peritonei Cancer Rare Disease Abdominal Cancer Surgery Diagnosis Symptoms
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