It’s Been No Picnic. Until Sunday.
I had my first big outing since the surgery Sunday and attended our Ejzak family picnic for more than an hour. It was great to see my...
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Staples - That Was Easy (ish
I had my first follow-up appointment with my surgeon yesterday. Sorry for not posting yesterday, but that excursion exhausted me and I...
Sharon on Sharon
Hello, my dearest friends and family. We are nowhere near the end of this recovery, but coming home was a huge step. Although they sent...
Experiencing Withdrawal Symptoms
Not Sharon. I’m talking about you blog readers whom I lured in with daily posts for 11 days straight and then cut you off cold turkey....
HOME SWEEEEET HOME!
It's been a long 11 days and now that Sharon is finally home we are taking a little break from blogging today. More details tomorrow....
C-U Later ICU?
I really thought I had today’s headline ready early this morning: Inflation Concerns Heighten. It was perfect because Sharon was told the...
Do Me A Solid!
Today Sharon had her first solid food in over a week and hit the culinary trifecta: breakfast, lunch and dinner. She is taking it slow...
Schweppes & Steps
A lot of things happened in the past 24 hours and we’re still figuring out some of them. First, late yesterday, doctors removed her NG...
7 Days Without Food Makes One Weak
After yesterday’s post we did get many nice comments. I also received some suggestions. Most—ok, all—of those were from Sharon. She...
GOOOOOAAL!
The whiteboard in Sharon’s hospital room made it clear as to what today’s goals were: get out of bed, walk in the halls, pass gas. I am...
The 100-Foot Marathon
Today was another good day for Sharon. It started by having her chest drain removed. This has lessened the pain in that area and also...
The Good, The Bad & The Funny
THE GOOD: We can definitely see progress over yesterday and have not had any setbacks (knock on wood). Today, they even had Sharon take...
Nonsense & Progress
"Those flashes in your eyes? They're meteorites." "I'm talking to Ava but she's not here." "Karen Finke got a new phone." "If we were in...
Not Much New to Report
It took till later in the day, but they did put in a drain to help remove fluid around the lungs. That should help Sharon's breathing and...
Brief ICU Update
Sharon is talking more this morning but also still drifting off quite a bit. She remains in the ICU getting heated oxygen because of...
"She looks like shit." — Sharon
Sawyer, Ava, and I were finally able to get in to see Sharon. She did have some minor breathing difficulties in the recovery room so they...
Sharon Is Out of Surgery & Doing Well
I just heard from the surgeon that Sharon is out of surgery and doing well, under the circumstances. They did remove her appendix,...
Surgery Day
Sharon and I want to thank everyone for their kind wishes, prayers, and words of encouragement for the journey we begin today. We arrived...
About This Blog
This blog will provide updates on Sharon related to her surgery and recovery. Some posts will be made by Steve and others by Sharon when...
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THE EVIL CANCER
Appendix Cancer with PMP
Pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) is a rare cancer that usually starts in the appendix and often grows slowly. Sometimes it starts in the bowel, the bladder or the ovaries but this is rare. Doctors believe Sharon's PMP started in the appendix but this will become fully known during the surgery. It is not known what causes PMP.
The PMP, which has spread into Sharon's abdomen, makes a jelly-like substance called mucin that can attack the other organs it contacts. The mucin also collects in a layer of tissue that lines the inside of the abdomen, called the peritoneum. The peritoneum covers and protects the organs in your abdomen, such as the bowel.
Home: The Cancer
THE HEROIC TREATMENT
CRS with HIPEC
Because of the intensity of this 2-part procedure, it is often referred to as "The Mother of All Surgeries" (MOAS). The good news is that the surgery, which can take 6-8 hours, does have a very high survival rate. Recovery can take some time and varies depending on how many organs were affected.
Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) aims to surgically remove all visible cancer nodules and mucin. This can mean removing all or parts of affected organs as well as scraping the mucin from organs.
Immediately after CRS, Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion (HIPEC) is performed by delivering very high doses of heated chemo directly into the abdomen. This is designed to treat small cancer nodules or invisible (microscopic) cancer cells that may be left behind after CRS. The heated chemo liquid remains in the abdomen for 100 minutes as medical staff apply external pressure to ensure thorough dispersion throughout the abdomen.
Home: The Cancer
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