Each year, PMP Pals sponsors the Society of Surgical Oncology/Advance Cancer Therapies conference (SSO/ACT) where specialists worldwide meet to discuss what’s new in peritoneal surface malignancies and related conditions.
Find links to the SSO/ACT 2025 powerpoint presentations here: https://s2.goeshow.com/sso/act/2025/final_program.cfm
Scroll down to Sunday’s Abstract Presentations: PSM Appendix and CRC Translational Science
Here is a sample of what you will find on that page:
Board president Adele Jasion and board treasurer Charmaine Skillman pay their way to attend this event and connect with physicians on Pals’ behalf. Here’s Adele’s recap: PMP Pals was represented at the Society of Surgical Oncology Advanced Cancer Therapies conference (SSO/ACT) on February 14-17. Charmaine and I had the privilege of connecting with our surgical oncology specialists, other medical professionals, researchers, our Medical Advisory Board, and our friends at the ACPMP Research Foundation. We showcased Pals’ dedication to providing support and resources to patients and caregivers affected by Appendix Cancer and its related conditions like Pseudomyxoma Peritonei (PMP). We raised awareness about the tireless work Pals does day in and day out to provide hope, education, support, fellowship, connections, and tools for building emotional resilience and dealing with the psychological challenges faced by PMP patients. The conference brought together opportunities to learn about clinical outcomes, current treatments, clinical trials, research, and other relevant topics as presented by some of the most brilliant minds in the medical community.
One conference highlight was the presentation of the 2025 Gabriella Graham Patient Advocate Award to Dr. Richard Alexander.Jr. from Rutgers Cancer Institute in New Jersey. We were thrilled to see Dr. Alexander recognized for his pioneering research and clinical work in advancing care and treatment for patients and for his heartfelt compassion and commitment to our patient community. Dr. Alexander truly exemplifies the spirit of the Gabriella Graham Patient Advocate Award and we are honored he accepted this year’s award honoring our beloved founder, Gabriella, a fierce advocate for patients who worked tirelessly to connect and inform patients, caregivers, and physicians. We have HOPE for you! Adele Jasion, President, PMP Pals
On a recent HOPE Zoom call, Pals around the world shared how they wrapped their heads around heading into CRS & HIPEC. This starter list is part of a Pals Tips Series: what to do before surgery, surgery prep, in hospital, going home, and long-term recovery. We broke it down to smaller, more manageable phases of transitioning through this Gold Standard of Treatment – cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy – for appendix cancer. We will revisit this series from time to time as Pals experience lends more insight on this life-saving procedure.
WHAT TO DO IN THE HOSPITAL
Set Milestones
- Set daily goals like sitting up in bed, moving to the chair, dangling your feet off the bed, walking to the door, completing 5 laps past the nursing station.
- Set goals for the week: moving into clear liquids then soft food, moving from epidural to oral pain medications (or none at all),
- Set goals for leaving the hospital: your first farts & bowel movement, removal of most/all tubes, solid bloodwork
- Use your white board to keep track of what you are working towards – the hospital exit!
Stay Ahead of Pain Management
- Pain is real and you do not have to suffer. That said, there is no way around the post-surgery discomfort.
- Pain medication helps with the pain but it also slows your gut motility which in the long run can delay your recover and leaving the hospital.
- Be aware that pain meds slow everything down, even your gut function, so migrating off when you can will help your digestive system resume normal function sooner. Constipation is common; your physician will most likely prescribe a stool softener.
- You will most likely transition from an epidural to oral pain meds to Extra Strength Tylenol.
- Ask for a standing order for two pain meds upon epidural transition. In the event you have a reaction to one pain medication, your nurse can quickly adapt to the other.
Get Moving
- Movement helps prevent blood clots and stimulates the gut to start moving.
- Don’t sit too long. If you can’t get out of bed, wiggle your toes, rotate your ankles, bend your legs.
- Walk when you are able. Start small (your bed to the room lightswitch), progressing to laps to and beyond the nursing station. In most hospitals, you will not be allowed to leave the floor.
- Move slowly and deliberately. Most likely you will be attached to tubes and IV bags in addition to the walker and hospital gown.
Hospital Dietician
- Speak directly with the hospital dietician.
- Request high-protein foods like jello (Gelatein 20 grams), Ensure (30 grams protein), The Magic Cup ice cream (290 calories, 20 grams protein).
- Stick with a low fiber/low residue diet to avoid obstructions in the beginning.
- Introduce new foods and harder-to-digest foods towards the end of your stay. Go easy.
Floor Staff
- Write down the names of your nurses, CNAs, housekeeping team members.
- Remember you are not the only patient they are taking are of…have patience but advocate for yourself.
- These people are your support team who helped you while in hospital; leave positive reviews when you get home. Some hospitals reward staff for positive reviews!
Physical Therapy (PT)
- Depending on your surgeon and the extent of your surgery, you may begin physical therapy at the hospital Or it may be delayed 6-8 weeks.
- While at the hospital, ask your PT if you can receive extra 1-on-1 sessions when another patient on the floor declines their time.
- Inquire specifically about pelvic floor physical therapy )for men and women)
Occupational Therapy (OT)
- Know that OT is different from PT.
- If you have an ostomy, ask OT to walk you through how to change the bag, noting how to care for yourself and possible issues to look for once you get home.
- If you are going home with a drain, know how to take care of that. Ask for supplies to take home. Order these prior to discharge so you have them on hand at home.
- Be clear on how to change wound dressings and the signs of trouble vs. good healing.
Social Worker/Discharge
- Accept at-home assistance offered with a visiting nurse, PT, OT, home aides, etc.
- Get your social worker’s direct number so you don’t have to navigate the hospital switchboard later.
- Ask the social worker how at-home services are covered by your insurance, for how long, how the re-evaluation process works, and how to get an extension, if needed.
Say Thank You
- Leave reviews of hospital staff who you believe deserve recognition. Complete hospital surveys.
- If you go for follow-ups, hand-deliver a basket of healthy snacks to your nurses station or ICU unit.
- If you are out of state, consider sending a heartfelt thank you card to your nurse; if sending email, “CC” the Human Resources Department and Head of Nursing so your nurse can be recognized appropriately.
Do you have something to add to this list? Email tara@pmppals.net and we will add it for future Pals’ benefit.
Teams are fun! Create a 5K Race Day Team & Team Fundraiser Page
Welcome to the One In a Million 5K Run/Walk. It’s way more fun to do with friends, family, and coworkers – let’s make it a TEAM EFFORT! To be clear, you can run the race without fundraising and you can fundraise without running. We hope you will do BOTH!
We have two sets of instructions: The Easy Version and The Detailed Step-by-step.
Photo courtesy: Sandra Gabriel, Unsplash
The Easy Create a Team Instructions
Barbie loves to walk with her friends so she is going to create a RACE DAY TEAM called The Village Sisters here: https://solerssports.raceentry.com/races/one-in-a-million-5k-runwalk/2024/register
After Barbie has created The Village Sisters team, she registers and pays so she can get her bib number & t-shirt. https://solerssports.raceentry.com/races/one-in-a-million-5k-runwalk/2024/register
Barbie is so excited to walk for PMP PALS, she wants to raise money for them too, so she creates a TEAM FUNDRAISERS PAGE called TeamBarbie here: https://solerssports.raceentry.com/races/one-in-a-million-5k-runwalk/2024/fundraising/campaign/new/pmp-pals-8445/0
Barbie gets all her friends to join her, so they register for the race, pay for a bib number, and select RACE DAY TEAM “The Village Sisters” when they register. Afterwards, Barbie’s friends get excited to raise money for PMP Pals too, so they sign up to be a fundraiser on TeamBarbie TEAM FUNDRAISER’S PAGE.
Barbie’s grandmother wants to donate to Barbie’s efforts but doesn’t want to walk or get a bib number. So she visits the Team Master Page, selects the TeamBarbie tile, and makes a donation to Barbie’s personal fundraising page “Barbie Doll” from the dropdown menu. Grandma’s donation is reflected in Barbie’s personal fundraising total and the TeamBarbie total. https://solerssports.raceentry.com/races/one-in-a-million-5k-runwalk/2024/fundraising/charity/charity/pmp-pals-8445
Ken wants to walk with Barbie because he’ll follow her anywhere. So he registers for The Village Sisters RACE DAY Team to get his bib number. He will fundraise too because Barbie told him to, so Ken sets up his personal fundraiser page here and be part of TeamBarbie: https://solerssports.raceentry.com/races/one-in-a-million-5k-runwalk/2024/fundraising/campaign/new/pmp-pals-8445/0
Ken’s best friend Allan will walk, but only for one mile in Alaska where he lives, and he doesn’t want to fundraise. Allan registers as a VIRTUAL participant, joins The Village Sisters too like everyone else, and then goes to this page: https://solerssports.raceentry.com/races/one-in-a-million-5k-runwalk/2024/fundraising/charity/charity/pmp-pals-8445 and click’s on the “Donate TeamBarbie” tile and selects Fundraiser “Ken Doll” from the dropdown menu to help Ken fundraise.
Lastly, Ken’s employer wants to sponsor the event and support Barbie & Ken, so Lifeguards-R-Us clicks here: https://solerssports.raceentry.com/races/one-in-a-million-5k-runwalk/2024/sponsor
Having trouble? Email us at tara@pmppals.net
The Detailed Step-by-step Create a Team Instructions
In order to participate, you will need to
- register for the race, pay your registration fee to get a bib number ($40 until 8/14), and enlist on a RACE DAY TEAM
- once registered, you decide to participate with a TEAM FUNDRAISERS PAGE. (You can also create your individual fundraising page too as part of this effort.)
- Participants who want to register as Race Day Teams and/or Team Fundraisers’ Page must complete THESE STEPS.
STEP 1: Decide who your Team Captain will be.
This person will create the RACE DAY TEAM that all team members will select thereafter, when they register for the race to get a bib number. The Team Captain will also create a TEAM FUNDRAISERS PAGE Page that teammates can use to fundraise with a dedicated team donation link.
STEP 2: Create your Race Day Team & register for your race bib
Team Captains should register first and set up the RACE DAY TEAM
1. Set up a Team Name with the RACE REGISTRATION Page.
Visit https://solerssports.raceentry.com/races/one-in-a-million-5k-runwalk/2024/register
Click the “5K” radio button
A BLUE Button will appear: Click to “Create/Join Team” then “Register as Team Captain” – this adds field “Team Name.”
Complete all the fields to register as Team Captain; click “Continue.”
Complete the rest of the form and check the box to accept/agree to the waivers and initial
Click “Continue” if you are not registering other race team members.
If you are registering other race team members with the same credit card, select the GREEN BUTTON “Add Another.” Now is the time to add 5 or more teammates to receive the 10% discount and pay with one credit card. You will be prompted to enter a “Team Name.” Continue to “Add Another” until all registrants are added. Click the BLUE BUTTON “Continue.”
The next page will ask if you want to make a Donation to the Charity – this is not the Team Fundraisers’ Page. This is simply an opportunity to donate additional money to the cause. Click the BLUE BUTTON to continue without donating by clicking the BLUE BUTTON ‘Continue without Donating” or make a donation to help defray race expenses then )click the BLUE BUTTON “Continue to Checkout.”
Complete your billing and credit card info and click the BLUE BUTTON “Register”.
You now have a RACE DAY TEAM registered. You are officially registered and will receive a bib number, t-shirt, and finisher medal. You will receive a confirmation email shortly.
PLEASE COMPLETE THE RACE DAY REGISTRATION PAYMENT BEFORE MOVING ON.
STEP3: Setting up a Team Fundraiser Page
We suggest creating a Team Fundraisers Page (see below) and asking family, friends, coworkers, and other to give to your TEAM FUNDRAISERS PAGE — it’s more fun and inspirational!
Set up a TEAM FUNDRAISERS PAGE here:
https://solerssports.raceentry.com/races/one-in-a-million-5k-runwalk/2024/fundraising/campaign/new/pmp-pals-8445/0
This is strictly for creating a Page to use to get others to donate to their race effort.
Setting up a Fundraiser Team Page is just that. Once a team is set up, you need to register for the race day or virtual run/walk. The Team has a fundraising page and each racer can have their own individual fundraising page associated with & that contributes to the Team Fundraiser Page total.
Now the TEAM CAPTAIN can set up a FUNDRAISING TEAM.
Visit https://solerssports.raceentry.com/races/one-in-a-million-5k-runwalk/2024/fundraising/campaign/new/pmp-pals-8445/0
Complete the form fields as directed. You can use the same Team Name that you used to register for the race or call your Team Fundraiser Page something different.
Upload a team logo or team image.
Upload an individual Profile image (to identify you personally).
In the “About You” section, write why you are raising funds for PMP Pals and appendix cancer.
Click the BLUE BUTTON CREATE FUNDRAISER
Your Team Fundraising Page will pop up. Write down this URL and share it with others and have them click the BLUE BUTTON “Fundraise” to donate to the Team Fundraisers’ Page.
If you want someone to donate to your team fundraiser, send them to this URL:
https://solerssports.raceentry.com/races/one-in-a-million-5k-runwalk/2024/fundraising/charity/charity/pmp-pals-8445
and have them select the BLUE BUTTON on your Team Fundraisers Page. This takes them to a donation form where they can also select a team member’s individual fundraising page.
Then go to the Team page and add yourself as a fundraiser and add yourself to the TEAM FUNDRAISER PAGE. See this example: https://solerssports.raceentry.com/races/one-in-a-million-5k-runwalk/2024/fundraising/campaign/join/pmp-pals-8445/7886
SHORTCUT TO MASTER PAGE OF ALL TEAM FUNDRAISERS PAGES
Check out this example to better understand how it works:
https://solerssports.raceentry.com/races/one-in-a-million-5k-runwalk/2024/fundraising/charity/charity/pmp-pals-8445
Scroll down & select your Team tile to donate to the team, and select a team member to support.
If you have friends who want to join your RACE DAY TEAM but do not want to fundraise individually, but they do want to donate and support PMP Pals programs, they can do so here and attribute their donation to the Your Team in the dropdown menu.
Having trouble? Email tara@pmppals.net and we’ll get you started.
