Aggressive Care for an Aggressive Cancer

When Gene was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of peritoneal cancer, the AHN Cancer Institute surgical oncology team at West Penn Hospital attacked it with a rare and aggressive treatment.

Gene Mazzetti’s abdominal pain started in December 2020. By January, it was so severe, it sent him to the emergency room. Over the next few weeks, he underwent blood tests, a sonogram, a CT scan, an EKG, and a colonoscopy. None of which revealed the source of his pain.

Gene had a nagging suspicion it might be peritoneal mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer that both his mother and father had. Upon hearing that, his colonoscopist referred Gene to a surgeon who biopsied eight sections of his abdomen.

Three days later, Gene received the cancer diagnosis that confirmed his suspicions. He immediately made an appointment with the AHN surgical oncology team, led by Patrick Wagner, MD, to discuss his options.

It was determined that the best course of attack was an aggressive one-two punch approach. The team would remove Gene’s cancer surgically. Then, while still inside his abdomen, apply heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), which is chemotherapy circulated in the body cavity at high temperature during surgery to kill any lingering cancer that is visible only at the microscopic level.

Mesothelioma is rare. Peritoneal mesothelioma is even rarer.

Peritoneal mesothelioma is a cancer that develops in the lining of the abdomen, which is known as the peritoneum. It is caused by inhaling or ingesting asbestos fibers.

Over time, irritation from the fibers can cause scarring and inflamm