| PMP Patient Welcome
On behalf of the Board of PMP Research Foundation, we would like to welcome you to our Foundation website.
Our organization exists to support the PMP and related cancer community of patients and their caregivers by providing the latest, most accurate information about the best practices in managing their disease. We also aim to support promising research that moves us all toward a cure.
Thirty years ago, peritoneal surface malignancy was considered a death sentence. The average life expectancy used to be three years. Now, thanks to the development of a special combination surgery (Cytoreductive surgery, or “CRS”) with localized chemotherapy (Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy), more and more patients now have a chance to live for many years.
Today, 70% of those with the least invasive tumor cells (DPAM) can experience an astonishing disease-free survival rate of 20+ years when they benefit from this combined approach. Although survival rates are improving, we are still not where we would like to be.
We would like to see a radical improvement in survival rates for all facets of PMP and related Peritoneal Surface Malignancies (PSM's) but we face a number of obstacles. Not only do we lack accurate diagnostic tools, we would like to see the disease diagnosed earlier in every patient. The diagnosis of PMP is so rare that symptoms of the disease are frequently missed and/or misdiagnosed as ovarian cysts/tumors, inguinal hernias, appendicitis and more.
Further, many radiologists unfamiliar with the specifics of PMP can miss it on scans. Pathologists who may go through their entire career without a single case of PMP are also under trained in its detection.
In addition to diagnostic issues, there is still no agreement among the specialists about the best practice and management of this disease. There is also a huge lag in the transfer of knowledge from the specialists to the general medical community (especially general surgeons and surgical oncologists) which prohibits some patients from obtaining the best possible treatment.
You may ask, why does all this matter to me? The short answer is that you are your own best advocate! PMP Research Foundation is here to help you be the most informed advocate for yourself &/or your loved one.
On this site you will find just about everything there is to know about this disease, the best current practices in Cytoreduction (CR) and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC), the current research, the specialists around the world, the criteria your surgeon must satisfy before you allow them to operate on you, and how you can help in the fight against this disease.
Through PMPcure.org, PMP Research Foundation is dedicated to improving your odds against this disease by:
1. Keeping you well informed and
2. Supporting research that will improve curability.
Together we can make a difference in the lives of those managing PMP today - and in the future.
Please help our mission to be successful! Donate Here:
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