Friday 15 April 2011

pmp survivor for 10 years

My name is Pauline and I think I must be one of the longest survivors of PMP. I was rushed into QMC in Nottingham (the hospital where I worked in the department of Haematology) in August 1999 with suspected appendicitis which proved to be a tumour on my appendix. My peritoneal cavity was filled with a jelly-like substance which my consultant had never seen before. Everyone was perplexed and didn't really know what to do. They removed the tumour and closed me up. I had to go back to have a right hemicolectomy, but to complicate matters even more it was impossible to perform conventional tracheal intubation under general anaesthesia, necessitating cancellation of the surgery. The surgery was done a month later and a brilliant anaesthetist successfully intubated me be using an awake fibre optic technique. The operation was followed by six months of chemotherapy. The PMP returned and in February 2002 I went to Basingstoke where I had the pioneering surgery to remove the tumour, and any other organs affected.There was no web site about PMP no leaflets available at this time, no specialist nurse as there is now, I felt very frightened and alone.I have annual CT scans and blood tests and have never felt better. I think this web site is fantastic, PMP sufferers need not feel alone, there is hope and treatment out there, and people do survive, I understand there is another hospital which also does this operation.I will be forever grateful to Brendan Moran and his team at Basingstoke, they have given me my life back.

1 comment:

  1. Pauline you were not able to add your story because it is my personal blog & not a forum ... I have been very happy to add your story to my page as well as Dave's story ....
    I have my 10 year "survivor-versary" coming up on May 25th this year!! (woo hoo)
    I do know of others on the yahoo PMP bellybutton forum who are longer term survivors than me ... one I know is 13 years out from diagnosis & surgery.
    It is wonderful for people who are newly diagnosed to have hope - that is why I want to share my story & why I stay active on the forums & Facebook PMP groups .... I feel very blessed to be here & I am "paying it forward" .... I wrote this as a reply to you on my blog but just in case you don't see it I decided to post here too, .... feel free to link my blog to your site as well ... stay well & keep spreading awareness ... there are some wonderful sites out there and some wonderful people who are doing just that ... there is a very active group on Facebook (there are several but this one is very active) that you may want to check out if you are a fellow Facebook user ...
    http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_183641215000882
    You will find me and many others on there ... if you have trouble with it send me an email or another post on my blog,

    Aussie hugs, A fellow long term PMP survivor, Kay:)

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