My name is Don George, I was 71 years old at that time. I live in Sharon Ontario, Canada. It is now June 1 2008.

This story began Nov 28, 2006 when I had a pain in my right side, so we went to the emergency room. There I was checked by the attending doctor who checked me out and drew blood and had x-rays taken, still could not find any reason for the pain, he said he would like me to stay till morning for a surgeon to have a look, so we did.

Dr Gupta the surgeon came in and checked me out he sent me for a CAT scan, when he looked at it he said he seen saw something and was not sure what it was, I asked what he thought and he said it could be a tumor he said that he wanted to do a laparoscopy to see what was going on in my abdomen. I told him that I was scheduled for a colonoscopy and an upper endoscopy in two weeks, he said we should wait until after that as those test were less invasive.

 I had the scopes done in early Dec. and saw that doctor in Dec 19 for a consultation and he said it was all ok but that I should get in touch with the surgeon which was not possible as Christmas holidays were upon us, I got hold of his office on Jan 2, 2007 and got an appointment for Jan 22.

When I went into his office he was surprised to see me look and feel so good, I asked him why and he said I had a stomach full of cancer (I don't know what words he used but that is what I heard), I just about fell over as I was not expecting that as no other tests had been done except those done in Nov 2006. That day he booked me in for a laparoscopy on Feb 6 2007 from this and the new CAT scan he said in his report that I appear to have Pseudomyxoma Peritonei or PMP for short. He told me that it was untreatable and I had likely two years (he did say that it could be treated with chemo but the treatment would be worse than the disease) so now I return home to find out what options I have.

I went on the internet and found a lot of information on PMP, I also found out from a doctor friend that treatment is available although not many doctors know much about this disease and some misdiagnose and treat it improperly making proper surgery sometimes impossible. I joined a forum on line of people who have had the same disease and have been treated for it. It is called the PMP Belly Button Club and they have been very supportive and helpful. By searching online I found out 3 of the top doctors that specialized in this treatment and we set about arranging to consult with them. The treatment is a very serious operation, but done properly the outlook is improved from 2 years to over 5 and in some cases 10 & more years. We are now in the process of consulting with them.  The diagnosis by all three doctors was Pseudomyxoma Peritonei (DPAM).

After the consults we decided to go with Dr Walley Temple In Calgary, Alberta and he did the MOAS (the mother of all surgeries) on May 17,2007 I was in the hospital for 35 days, stayed in Calgary for another week then drove back to Ontario.

I had two separate one week stays in the local hospital due to infections in July & Aug .

Since that time I have had no problems, Went downhill skiing 35 times this last winter. Have had good 6 month check up with ct scan and tumor markers (all Good) I just had my 1 year tumor markers done and are all good. I have an appointment for ct scan in July and hope that will be good too.

I feel great but know that this thing can come back to bite you so we must keep a close watch on everything.

My wife Thea has been my savior through all of this and was by my side all the way through, without her I don’t know how well I would have fared.

Don George