I hadn't been feeling well, then doctors removed 13 of my organs

Telegraph

23-05-2025

A former outdoor education instructor has said she is enjoying 'whatever time she has' after having 13 organs removed during her treatment for an incurable cancer.
Rebecca Hind, 39, is now restricted to a diet of electrolyte fluid solution and a daily cocktail of 50 to 60 tablets including codeine, Imodium and hormone replacement therapy.
Ms Hind, from Eden Valley, Cumbria, was diagnosed with pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) in 2019.
Doctors have since removed 13 organs and body parts that had become cancerous and developed tumours.
During two surgeries, medics removed her greater omentum (part of the stomach), gall bladder, spleen, large bowel, womb, uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, cervix and rectum.
They also removed a portion of her stomach and small bowel, and the surface layer of her liver and both sides of her diaphragm.
Determined to look on the bright side, Ms Hind said: 'I turn 40 this year and I want to say yes to everything – I've been surfing, in a hot air balloon and dog sledding so far.
'The message I want to get across is when you have a stoma or an incurable diagnosis, things will be incredibly difficult.
'My daily life is a rollercoaster – but with the right attitude, you can still achieve a lot.
'And more importantly, enjoy whatever time you have.'
Ms Hind began noticing unusual weight gain around her stomach in 2018, but she simply continued exercising to try to lose it.
She became concerned after contracting food poisoning during a work Christmas meal in December 2018.
While her colleagues recovered, Ms Hind's sickness inexplicably remained for two months and after several visits to the hospital she had a CT scan and biopsies which diagnosed the one-in-a-million disease.
Ms Hind said: 'By the time they found it, I was pretty much riddled with it.
'It was heartbreaking. But I've just got to try to get on with life, and deal with whatever comes my way.'
In April 2019, she had a surgery at The Christie hospital, Manchester, to remove her appendix and umbilicus, lesser omentum and six litres of mucin.
When tests later showed the cancer was a high-grade and more aggressive form of PMP which was present on lots of organs, Ms Hind tried eight rounds of chemotherapy, but it did not shrink the cancer enough.
She travelled to Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital in November 2019 where specialists performed an extreme and lengthy procedure – dubbed 'the mother of all surgeries' – in a bid to remove all the abnormal tissue.
Months on, Ms Hind learnt that the surgery had not eradicated the cancer and it was classified as incurable. She does not know how long she will live.