Mr. Brian D is a 48-year-old Suffolk County Police Officer and father of five. He thought he pulled a muscle moving a TV, but when the pain persisted, he saw his doctor.
An MRI was ordered to evaluate the muscular pain, and the results were devastating: not only did he have an appendiceal tumor, but the disease had spread throughout his abdomen.
Mr. D was referred to see an oncologist who recommended Dr. Joseph Kim at Stony Brook Medicine.
Dr. Kim concluded that without cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC Mr. D’s chance of survival for up to two years was 0%. But as he told him, surgery in combination with HIPEC offered him a chance of survival greater than five years was over 50%.
After a complete evaluation, Dr. Kim knew that Mr. D’s only hope was cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC.
In December 2016, Mr. D had surgery at Stony Brook to remove the ruptured appendix cancer and also all of the tumors that had spread throughout the abdomen.
While in the operating room over the course of the 14-hour surgery, Dr. Kim and his team also used HIPEC to deliver heated chemotherapy in high doses to maximize absorption of the drugs and target hidden cancer cells in the abdomen.
Mr. D’s hospital course was smooth, and he was discharged to home in one week without any complications. He has let his hair grow out, and is enjoying taking care of his children at home, while his wife (also a Suffolk County Police Officer) is busy at work.
