Catherine “Kitty” Kane
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Life is...Sweet
Article contributed by Julie Holland, Deaconess Medical Center
Those who know Catherine “Kitty” Kane will tell you she’s one in a million. Unfortunately, so was her rare cancer.
For more than a year, she stayed busy with her family’s business, Hallett's Chocolates, ignoring her stomach pain until it became too much. Her gynecologist diagnosed her with uterine fibroids and scheduled surgery to remove them. Kane’s fairly routine surgery quickly became complicated. A tumor on her appendix had burst and her abdomen was filled with mucous-producing cells. A surgeon immediately removed her appendix and all visible cells. The test results were devastating: Her tumor was cancerous.
Kane wasn’t content to wait and see if her surgery removed all the cancer. In her online research, she learned about a relatively new abdominal cancer treatment called Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemoperfusion (HIPEC), or heated chemotherapy. She was even more excited that one of the premier surgical oncologists in the United States performing the treatment was right here in Spokane.
Surgical Oncologist Ryan F. Holbrook, M.D. has used heated chemo to treat about 100 patients with abdominal cancers over the past 12 years. “Until about three years ago, only a dozen medical centers in the United States were doing heated chemo,” says Dr. Holbrook. “Now, it’s really blossoming. At first I did two or three procedures a year. This year, I’ve done more than 20. Patients come from across the country to get heated chemo treatment in Spokane.”
Dr. Holbrook performed the procedure on Kane in January 2006. With HIPEC, Dr. Holbrook removes all visible signs of the tumor and diseased cells. Chemotherapy drugs are then heated and circulated for 90 minutes throughout the abdominal cavity to kill diseased cells too small to be seen. Heat boosts the chemo’s potency and weakens the tumor’s ability to repair itself.
“Ten or 15 years ago,” says Dr. Holbrook, “Kitty would have been facing a much different outcome: a slow and probably painful death from the continued growth of cells in her abdomen.” Instead, Kane can now make the most of every moment.
“Three months after treatment, I was playing softball,” says Kane. “I’ve never played softball in my life, but I don’t care what people think. I survived a rare cancer. I’m just enjoying life.”
Every breast cancer survivor has a story—one filled with fear, hope and courage. While these survivors have many things in common, from the heart-wrenching diagnoses, to receiving some combination of chemotherapy, surgery or radiation therapy – none of their stories are exactly the same. The types of cancer are different, the way it affects their bodies and the way their bodies respond are unique. To battle this disease, teams of physicians, nurses and clinicians work together to treat each patient individually. With specifically tailored treatments and one-of-a-kind responses, miracles happen every day.