Note: Names have been changed to retain the anonymity of the entities/individual.
Hilary Johnson, a young thirty-one year old wife and mother of three boys, was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma in March 1995. It all started when Hilary began to develop some fluid in her peritoneal (abdominal) cavity. She was prescribed some antibiotics to control the fluid and pain and underwent several paracenteses to drain the fluid from her abdominal cavity. But none of these helped her and the results were merely temporary. On several occasions, Hilary experienced severe pain due to centesis.
When her doctor did not see any improvement in her situation, Hilary was advised to take an abdominal CT scan. The results showed thickening of Hilary’s lower bowl and more fluid accumulation in her abdominal. The doctors perceived Hilary’s condition as gastroenterological problem and started Prednisone treatments.
On June 03, 1995, Hilary experienced severe lower abdominal pain with vomiting and blood secretion and was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital. Another CT scan was conducted on Hilary indicating that her descending colon was narrowed with an almost complete obstruction.
Hilary underwent an exploratory laparotomy. Upon examining her abdomen, the doctors noticed an area that was adhered to the peritoneum (lining of the abdominal cavity), descending colon, sigmoid colon and the abdominal wall. Surgeons at MGH removed the effected part of Hilary’s small intestine including the mass containing the fluid and small bowel.
The dissected parts of Hilary’s small intestines along with the peritoneal fluid were sent to pathology for diagnosis. The result showed reactive mesothelial cells and Hilary was thus diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma. She was advised to undergo several chemotherapy treatments that did little or no good to her situation. Her situation kept on getting worse as the days passed.
Finally, on 21st December 1995, the clock stopped ticking for Hilary. During her lifetime, Hilary endured great amount of pain and suffering but she stood strongly and fought the aggressive disease of mesothelioma.
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