Knowing Something is Off
- When Jan McCluskey noticed her stomach changing shape at nearly 60 years old, she assumed it was likely due to menopause. It wound up being PMP, pseudomyxoma peritonei, a rare cancer that starts in the appendix.
- After two major surgeries, along with chemotherapy, Jan is thankfully in remission. She will remain on medication and will be closely monitored for 10 years. Catching her cancer when she did was key in beating the disease.
- Unfortunately, many people do not have initial symptoms in the early stages of this type of cancer. When the mass from the cancer gets larger, symptoms can include: feeling bloated or growing abdominal size, feeling full very soon after eating, and/or nausea and vomiting. You know your body more than anyone else, if something seems off, go get checked.
“… about a year before I turned 60, I began struggling with a leaky bladder too. It was usually in the night and when I coughed or sneezed. Again, I thought it was another menopause symptom,” the Manchester-based mom told Rachel Tomkins at METRO.
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Her doctor drained fluid from the mass, then surmised that it could actually be PMP, pseudomyxoma peritonei, a rare cancer that starts in the appendix.
Turns out he was right.
“A lump formed in my throat when a consultant confirmed it had already spread to my stomach,” Jan recalled of the traumatizing diagnosis.
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Getting Treatment for PMP
Jan was told that the prognosis was looking good, but she needed two “major surgeries,” then she’d be “closely monitored for the next 10 years.”
The first step was to drain fluid from her stomach, which wound up being five liters. Then her appendix was removed, along with her right ovary.
After the first operation at Manchester’s Christie hospital, Jan’s doctor speculated that at some point, Jan’s appendix likely burst, causing the cancer to spread.
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Six months later, she went through a nine-hour procedure to remove her gallbladder, belly button, spleen, and remaining ovary.
“They also scraped my liver to remove rogue cells and filled my tummy cavity with hot chemo fluid to get rid of any remaining cancer cells,” she explained of the intense treatment process. “I was very scared about how the chemo would affect me because I'd never heard of it being done like this before.”
When Jan awoke from surgery and looked at her stomach, she became very sad.
“With my belly button removed, I felt my stomach looked like the top of a pumpkin,” she said.
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Despite the tough surgery, physical and emotional scars, Jan was thankfully given the all clear from cancer.
“I now have scans and blood tests every six months to ensure the cancer hasn't come back,” Jan said. “I suffer from extreme fatigue but I feel stronger for what I've been through and grateful to have the support of Phill and Sarah,” referring to her husband and daughter.
Advocating for Menopause-Age Women
To this day, she has no idea what was menopause and what was cancer, as symptoms can unfortunately be similar.
“I still can't believe that for all those years, I thought I was just experiencing menopause symptoms when in reality, I was being attacked by an extremely rare cancer.”
Since beating the disease, the survivor has been determined to spread the word and advocate for other menopause-age women.
“Often women try to carry on as normal when they're feeling ill or experience differences in their body, especially if they are at an age in their life when they think it's the menopause.”
Most importantly, Jan wants to remind everyone to always get a second opinion. And we second that! In fact, medical experts suggest getting multiple opinions when needed.
What is Pseudomyxoma Peritonei (PMP)?
Most epithelial appendiceal cancers can lead to a build-up of mucin (the most abundant macromolecules in the mucus), which can cause the appendix to rupture, according to the National Cancer Institute. When mucin from the appendix builds up in the abdomen, it causes a condition called pseudomyxoma peritonei, or PMP.
As in Jan’s case, appendiceal cancer can spread to various parts of the abdomen, usually when the appendix ruptures, as Jan’s doctor had noted of her specific case.
Unfortunately, many people do not have initial symptoms in the early stage of this type of cancer. When the mass from the cancer gets larger, symptoms can include:
- Pain
- Feeling bloated or growing abdominal size
- A mass in the abdomen
- Nausea and vomiting
- Feeling full soon after starting to eat
Jan, with the help of her husband, is lucky that she kept questioning her strange symptoms. Don’t ever dismiss that voice in your head that tells you that something in your body is off. You know yourself and your body more than anyone else.
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