Appendix cancer patients from around the world come to Pittsburgh for treatment
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Pittsburgh has become one of the top places in the world for the treatment of appendix cancer – a rare cancer affecting one in a million people. Many of them were told they had only months to live until they came to Pittsburgh.
Brian Whitehead was diagnosed with appendix cancer when he was 55. He had surgery and chemo and lived a great 10 years before it returned just a year into his retirement. His doctor at a large hospital in New York City had bad news.
"She said there was nothing more that she could do for me – not something that anybody ever wants to hear – and that I probably had six months to live," Whitehead said.
That's when Whitehead found Dr. David Bartlett, a pioneer in appendix cancer treatment at Allegheny Health Network. Dr. Bartlett sees four or five new cases a day when most oncologists will see one or two in a lifetime. Some come from as far away as Israel.
Many patients with appendix cancer come to AHN after their doctor at home tells them they only have a short time to live. When they come to see Dr. Bartlett, he often gives them hope.
"The majority of our patients are now coming to us after already having extensive surgery elsewhere but having recurrences that are no longer able to be dealt with at those hospitals so they're coming here," Dr. Bartlett said.
In May, Dr. Bartlett performed a 15-hour surgery on Whitehead. They removed Whitehead's cancer that had spread throughout the abdominal cavity.
"All your organs – your intestines, your liver, your bladder — everything is just coated with tumor on the outside, so there's just a space in there that allows this tumor to grow and grow and grow," Dr. Bartlett said.
After surgically removing the cancer, the abdomen is then pumped with heated chemo called "HIPEC," which stands for hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy, to kill any microscopic cancer cells that remain. It's 10 times stronger than traditional chemo that goes through the blood and is heated to 107 degrees Fahrenheit.
"The heat alone can kill the cancer cells, and we hold it there for 90 minutes, and in addition, it's a concentrated solution of chemotherapy which is much more concentrated than if you're giving it intravenously and it's making its way into the belly," Dr. Bartlett explained.
After that, Dr. Bartlett puts the organs back together and surgically reconstructs what's needed. It's sometimes called "MOAS," which stands for the mother of all surgeries.
"It's called the mother of all surgeries because it's just, know you, it's brutal. It's all encompassing," said Paul Brezovsky.
Paul Brezovsky is the father of Ross Brezovsky — a former Notre Dame baseball player and a marathon athlete who was also diagnosed with appendix cancer. He was just 34 with a wife and two young daughters when he was told he had six months to live.
"I thought maybe it was just appendicitis, but then, no, it wasn't. We were devastated," said his mom, Karen Brezovsky, who grew up in New Castle.
"Yeah, it's hard to get your mind around that kind of news because it's always something that happens to somebody else," Paul said.
Ross found Dr. Bartlett in Pittsburgh, and he performed multiple surgeries that extended his life for four more years — something his parents are grateful for.
"He was able to spend some quality time with his children, and I think because of that, they'll have some memories of Ross whereas they would not have prior," Paul said.
Dr. Bartlett says Ross had an especially aggressive type of appendix cancer, making it more difficult to treat. He died in October.
"I just want to get the word out – spread the word that there is hope," Karen said.
Brian Whitehead is expected to live another 10 to 15 years. He's feeling almost back to normal eight months later and is spending time with his grandkids and traveling to Europe with his wife.
"It's extremely rewarding for us, for me, to take a patient who's been told there's no other options and they only have a few months to live and really to be able to, by better understanding their disease and what we can accomplish, we can change that story completely," Dr. Bartlett said.
"I just feel like the luckiest guy in the whole world to be able to meet a doctor like that and have this kind of recovery," Whitehead said.
One more challenge with appendix cancer is because it's so rare, there's not a lot of funding or attention toward it in studies on prevention and treatment.
You can find more on AHN's treatment of appendix cancer with Dr. Bartlett online.
