Kathryn Berecic: What are the symptoms of appendix cancer?

Kathryn Berecic’s world was turned upside down after being diagnosed with a ‘rare and aggressive’ form of stage four appendix cancer at the age of 31 last year.

The young teacher, from Melbourne, received the devastating news last year after undergoing routine appendix removal surgery. She is now fighting for her life as the cancer has spread throughout her body.

“This diagnosis came as a huge shock as I have been health conscious and active all my life,” she continued GoFundMe where she is crowdfunding for a last chance treatment.

“All my hopes and dreams were taken from me, which is a hard pill to swallow as a 31-year-old.”

Melbourne teacher Kathryn Berecic (pictured) was diagnosed with appendicitis at the age of 31. The news came as a complete shock because she was always ‘fit and healthy’

Last year she received the devastating diagnosis and has since traveled to Sydney for ‘the mother of all surgeries’

Appendage cancer is incredibly rare and difficult to treat, affecting only one or two people in a million. As a result, few surgeons specialize in this.

“Initially we met a few different surgeons, all of whom knew nothing about treating my type of cancer,” Kat wrote.

“There are only about ten surgeons in the world who are experts in this field, including one in Sydney.”

On March 2, 2021, Kat traveled from Melbourne to Sydney to meet with a surgeon and medical team for what was intended to be a three-day trip that was extended.

“My doctor thought it was too unsafe to travel back home before surgery because of some suspected developments with the cancer,” she said.

On March 16, she had the “mother of all surgeries,” which involved spending 12 hours under the knife to remove “a number of infected organs,” then having heated chemotherapy “infused directly into her abdomen” in an attempt to remove any cancerous remnants. kill.

This left Kat with huge scars on her stomach.

On March 16, she had the ‘mother of all operations’ where she had to be under the knife for 12 hours (pictured)

“Recovery wasn’t easy. I had heard over and over that this was one of the most difficult surgeries anyone could go through, but nothing could prepare me for this,” she wrote.

‘I was in the ICU longer than expected because of extreme pain and nausea, but when I was transferred to the ward things started to get better.

“The surgery took months to recover and has a major impact on my daily life to this day.”

Her time in Sydney was extended repeatedly, but she finally returned to Melbourne in May 2021 and began chemotherapy in November.

Flash forward to early 2022, Kat had routine scans that showed no signs of cancer, but later turned out not to be the case.

She then flew back to Sydney to have the cancer removed from her stomach, liver, spleen and peritoneum.

In her latest health update shared on Nov. 6, Kat said she’s had three major surgeries, two doses of HIPEC and 20 rounds of chemotherapy, though it hasn’t worked as well as hoped.

She and her family have decided to opt for Adoptive Cell Therapy – a form of personalized immunotherapy made with your own blood.

On Nov. 6, Kat said she’d had three major surgeries, two doses of HIPEC and 20 rounds of chemotherapy, although it didn’t work as well as hoped. She and her family have decided to opt for adoptive cell therapy – a form of personalized immunotherapy that is expensive. So far, $89,533 has been raised from the GoFundMe page goal of $200,000

However, this treatment is not available in Australia and Kat has to travel to Japan twice for her first round of therapy and return a few times a year for ongoing treatment.

Kat said the treatment “directly isolates, activates, and vastly expands her immune cells and natural killer cells.”

“These cells are then reintroduced into my body through a series of injections and infusions to significantly increase my body’s ability to fight the cancer,” she said.

But the treatment is incredibly expensive, with the first round of injection costing about $50,000 and ongoing treatments expected to cost hundreds of thousands.

Kat and her family hope the funds from the GoFundMe page will help with the ongoing massive cost of treatment.

“If a selfless person is Kat, I know she wouldn’t want people to care about her, but I feel this is finally a chance to give back to such an amazing woman who has given so much to others,” wrote her friend Danni. .

“Kat and her husband moved in with her parents so she can get the day-to-day care and support she needs and extra help navigating frequent specialist appointments.”

So far, $89,653 has been raised from the $200,000 target, which can be viewed here.