Right after surgery to remove colon cancer that had spread to the abdominal cavity...doctors at University of Miami Hospital circulate a chemo solution heated to 106 degrees fahrenheit. It's a one time treatment called HIPEC. "It's touching every single corner of the abdomen over the lining of the bowels, every corner...so that's why we have to be moving patients in different positions over those 90 minutes. It's a continuous rotation of the position of the patient," says Mecker Moller, M.D., UM Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The heating of the chemo is key. "It increases the penetration of the chemotherapeutic agent into the layers of the cells," says Samer Schuman, M.D., UM Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer center.
A higher concentration of chemo can he given this way without side effects. This video provided by UM is South Florida's first hipec treatment done in January. The grateful patient is Georgine Pereira who says she is feeling great, four months later. "Muy bien muy bien."
Sitting beside her is Tammy Rosamilia who had hipec last month after her third recurrence of colon cancer. "I am very grateful to all of them for helping me and doing this type of treatment and hopefully it will be the last time I'll have to deal with this cancer."
Hipec at UM is only being used for patients with cancer that has spread to the abdominal cavity from the lining of the inside wall of the abdomen, the colon, and the appendix. "What the procedure does is increase your disease free survival, and it has been proven that it's better than giving them iv chemotherapy," says Dr. Moller.
Again...only for a limited number of cancers, but UM plans in the next few months to begin using hipec for ovarian and stomach cancer as well...helping you live healthy.
