Background

Linda was diagnosed with ovarian cancer on April 27 and had her first surgery at Vancouver General on May 18. During that surgery, the docs changed the diagnosis to pseudomyxoma peritonei - an 'umbrella' term for a rare form of cancer (hence, the one in a million - we always knew she was a rare bird!) which usually starts in the appendix. It's a slow-growing beast that lives on the surface of organs - both of those characteristics are good news. Linda's specific kind is mucinous adenocarcinoma of the intestine.  A primary debulking was done in Vancouver and then we were referred to the Tom Baker Cancer Center in Calgary where we met with Dr. Temple in June. What a relief that he could (and was willing to) answer all our questions - a very knowledgeable man about this pesky beast. During our consult with Dr. T., he mentioned a hospital stay of 4 - 8 weeks. Well, didn't our heads snap up! Both of us thought he meant 4 - 8 days but he assured us that he said and meant weeks. Linda will stay in the hospital until the possibility of complications has passed and she is well on the road to recovery. Another sigh of relief after the previous hospital experience.