..............................................Primary Peritoneal Cancer Awareness & support

Wednesday 10 April 2013

PPC or Ovarian Cancer

My diagnosis of PPC came throug the route of an Ovarian cancer diagnosis and has been treated in the same way.  It took me awihle to get my head around this.  Did I or didnt I have PPC?  Why was it being treated like Ovarian cancer?  Well as I now understand it, the cells of the ovaries (epithelial cells) are the same as those making up the peritoneum and therefore respond to the same treatment as given for ovarian cancer.  So What is the difference?  The difference (as I understand it)is that a Primary diagnosis is where the first initial cancer cells are found. Therefore as no growth or cancer cells were found on the ovaries and only on the peritoneum, despite the similarities in cells.  My cancer was a Primary Peritoneal Cancer but treated the same as ovarian cancer due to the similarity of cell make up.  Because of the rarity of PPC and similarities to Ovarian cancer, I even  found myself thinking of myself as someone with Ovarian cancer. I dont.  I have PPC.

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