Mercy Medical Center Study Shines Light on Why Appendix Cancer Used to Be Unheard Of

Twenty years ago, appendix cancer was virtually unheard of—because many cancers were misdiagnosed.

"General surgeons, in the past, were taught that they would encounter patients with appendix cancer once in their career," said Dr. Vadim Gushchin of Surgical Oncology at Mercy Medical Center. "These days, we get one or two patients from our general surgeons per year [within Mercy Medical Center]."

In some cases, the delays are because doctors are unfamiliar with appendix cancer pathology.

Mercy investigators conducted a study about those who travel to treat appendix cancer. They found patients who travel longer have less luck with completely removing their tumors.

That's because most of the patients who travel have waited longer before detecting their cancers.

According to Dr. Gushchin, patients who are diagnosed with appendix cancer should make sure they seek a second and third opinion about their condition.

View Mercy surgical oncologist Dr. Vadim Gushchin’s interview regarding appendix cancer.