The Blob

Author: Polly Heninger Polly Heninger Pseudomyxoma peritonei
In late 2019, I had a regular once-a-decade colonoscopy. My colon was fine but something was poking it from the outside. A CT scan revealed a mass about the size of a hockey puck in my appendix. I had no symptoms. I was extremely lucky to get a second opinion from a surgeon who specializes in this kind of rare tumor. The tumor, aka The Blob, had ruptured and spread mucin all over my abdomen. I had a 16-hour surgery to remove many organs including my reproductive organs, appendix, spleen, gall bladder, and 80% of my colon. The good news was that the tumor was low-grade and very unlikely to spread outside my abdomen if it came back. I was in the hospital 19 days in March 2020, as the world shut down due to COVID. My intestinal tract no longer works the way it used to. I can eat almost anything I want. It’s the output that’s problematic due to frequency and urgency. I’m working with an integrative nutritionist to allow me to roam further from bathrooms with less fear of messy accidents.