Peritoneal Stripping

Tina Brown said:

Interesting
I have never heard of this and will be interested to hear how it goes

Tina x

Stripping the peritoneum
Hi: As I understand the question, it is the "stripping" that is the surgery? The two doctor team that does the HIPIC thing in Calgary start with complete stripping of the peritoneum hoping to remove not only the visible tumours but also the microscopic ones. It takes about 10-17 hours. They follow this with the chemo bath internally using their hands to "wash" everything. As I also understand it, the peritoneum is only a cell or two in depth which makes stripping a tricky technique and why it takes so long to perform. Have I got this right?
Cheryl

wanttogetwellsoon said:

stripping...
That's what I thought. The peritoneum I'm told is the largest area of the body even after the skin. I hadn't realised the operation would take so long but now I know it's not an easy operation. I'll probably have more information in about four weeks when I have the results of my 3 month scan so I'll let you know. Thanks for letting me know.

Stripping vs Debulking
Hi: I would certainly check on exactly what your operation will entail. Myself, I don't really understand the difference between the two or are they in fact the same operation, just different words to describe it. I know I see "debulking" in the ovarian cancer literature and stripping in the peritoneum/gastro literature. Any one out there know? Thanks!
Cheryl

AussieMaddie said:

Stripping the ;peritoneum?
I've not heard of stripping the peritoneum, but Cheryl, if it takes 10-17 hours, there's not way I can ever see them doing it on me.

AT my morbidly obese size, I'd be lucky to recover from a one hour procedure.

Somehow, I don't think it will be an issue for me.

Good luck Sue on your experience of stripping of the peritoneum. If you can't find answers here, I'd google "stripping the peritomeum" to find some answers. The other obvious place is to ask your oncologist.

For now, I'm just waiting on results..

AussieMaddie

Peritoneum stripping vs debulking
Hi all: See my findings (and confusion) under Surgeries.
Cheryl

wanttogetwellsoon said:

peritoneal stripping
It sounds like a difficult procedure doesn't it? I know the peritoneum is the biggest surface of the body including the skin. It's not very thick so I'm told. I have dense adhesions so, if the chemo helps in getting the inflammation down, I'm not sure if my doctor will say that the organs need releasing anyway. I usually find things easy(ish) to understand but the whole abdomen thing is hard for me and partly, I think it's because I'm so emotionally involved. I'll let you all know soon as I have a scan in two weeks to check how the first three chemos have gone and then see my doctor the week after that.

Peritoneal stripping and debulking
Hi: Keep us posted on this one. Ditto for me re what's all in there and why there are different procedures for different kinds of peritoneum cancers. I should get the results of my MRI scan of the peritoneum soon, hopefully, to see if the new chemo regime is doing any kind of a job at all.
Cheryl

wanttogetwellsoon said:

progress...
Hi Cheryl...
I hope things go well with the MRI. I'll be keeping all fingers and toes crossed for you.

Progress
Hi: Thanks! The lung CT was clear (monitoring some apparently old lesions from an exposure at some time in the past to something nasty like TB or something creeping out in places I've worked in like the Arctic or the Amazon or even labs). Still awaiting the MRI results.
Cheryl

AussieMaddie said:

Here's wishing good news for you Cheryl
Hi Cheryl,

great news about the CT scan that was clear. Now hoping that the MRI goes the same way..
Take great care,
AussieMaddie
xxx

MRI Results
Hi: Well, these results were not so good but not terrible either. No change in size or number of cancerous nodules on the peritoneum (but oncologist had hoped for some reduction and even elimination) and no evidence of any cancers anywhere else (that is very good news). But I have a mammo biopsy tomorrow so we'll see how that goes! Thanks for the wishes!
Cheryl

daBeachBum said:

Cheryl,

I'm sorry that you didn't find any shrinkage in your nodules. Overall though your results seemed pretty promising to me. I hope the next time around you get the news you want!

I got a similar report back about my osmental caking remaining unchanged on my CT scan, but my doctor was very happy with the results. If she is OK with it, then I will be too. I figure if she is smart enough to work at Penn, I will trust what she says.

Best of luck on the mammo biopsy!

Ray

Hi: thanks, all. Yes, no change is better than growth. And who knows, there may have been shrinkage when comparing each nodule to what it was a year ago. I need a "map" of these critters with location and start size (being the good geographer that I am!).
Re the mammo biopsy. I don't think they are related as I have had call backs on my mammograms for years. But it is possible. The biopsy was interesting to say the least and not something I want to repeat! Get those results in 10 days. My dog Charlotte just got sprayed by a skunk in the backyard so have to go and clean her up (she stinks!) - not sure how as I'm not supposed to lift anything for 2 weeks. But must be done.
Cheryl

Sadee said:

info on HIPEC
I had been reading up on peritoneal cancer earlier tonight as it is one of several cancers my mother has just been diagnosed with. I came across a website with the info I believe you are looking for in the HIPEC surgery at www.hipectreatment.com .

HIPEC
Hi: There is only one place that does it here in Canada and that is in Calgary (Wally Temple). They had a program on it on the news the other night and it looks very promising indeed - less traumatic than the stripping surgery. Has anyone had this treatment without the debulking or stripping? Has it worked? There were a lot of very positive testimonials on the newscast.
Cheryl

wanttogetwellsoon said:

HIPEC
Hi Cheryl..
I've heard that for certain types of cancer, intra peritoneal chemo can be much more effective than conventional chemo because it gets straight to where it needs to. It's like giving the peritoneum a bath. Unfortunanately, I have so many adhesions that the organs are stuck together and, even if the surgeons thought it possible to cut the adhesions to release them, it would be unlikely that the chemo would reach every nook and cranny. The treatment must offer hope though to many people, mustn't it?

HIPEC
Yikes! trying to visualize organs stuck together - sounds awful! I'm not sure what my chances of getting the treatment would be given only one place in Canada does it. To me, it makes sense - get the chemo to where it needs to be, particularly as the peritoneum nodules are not connected to the blood system. How painful can a procedure like that be? (Well, it is always worse than it sounds!).
Cheryl