By Eleanor Wilson
A cancer diagnosis is enough to turn any family’s life upside down.
For 32-year-old Berwick resident Kathryn Berecic, a 2021 diagnosis of a rare and belligerent cancer was no different.
The primary school teacher’s battle began in January last year, when she was hospitalised with severe abdomen pain.
Her appendix had burst, doctors told her, and with it mucous producing tumour cells spread throughout her abdomen.
“It was like a cancer bomb going off in my belly,” Kathryn explained.
“I have always been very health conscious. I’ve never smoked, I’ve always eaten very clean and kept active, so it came as a complete shock to me.”
Appendix cancer, or pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP), affects around one in a million people, making it one of the rarest forms of cancer in the country.
It’s aggressive and difficult to treat according to experts on the cancer, of which there are only 10 in the world.
One of those experts is Kathryn’s surgical oncologist, Professor David Morris, who operates in Sydney’s St George Peritonectomy and Liver Cancer Unit.
The prognosis of appendix cancer varies among sufferers, according to Professor Morris.
“There are different sorts of appendix cancers, there are some that are quite benign and others are more malignant and recurring,” Dr Morris said.
“Kathryn’s is a relatively malignant one,” he said.
Since her diagnosis, Kathryn has undergone three major surgeries, each taking up to 14 hours, to remove her ovaries, uterus, fallopian tubes, spleen, gallbladder and colon.
She has also received two doses of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), which involves pouring heated chemotherapy into the abdomen to destroy microscopic cancer cells that may be spread throughout the abdomen.
On top of this, she has endured 20 gruelling rounds of chemotherapy, which has taken a large toll on her mental and physical health, she said.
Yet sadly the treatment hasn’t proved as effective as Kathryn and her team of specialists had hoped.
“Kathryn’s cancer has recurred a number of times and its behaving in a more aggressive manner than many of them do,” Dr Morris said.
All but exhausting the treatment options available to her in Australia, on Sunday 13 November, Kathryn flew to Japan to begin preparation for a new treatment called Adoptive Cell Therapy.
The treatment approach involves directly isolating immune and natural killer cells, activating them and vastly expanding their numbers.
These cells are then reintroduced into the body through a series of injections, boosting the capacity for the body to fight the cancer.
It can also greatly enhance the effects of chemotherapy.
“As many doctors have put it, this is the future of cancer treatment,” Kathryn said.
The catch is that the cost of Adoptive Cell Therapy sits at about $50,000 per treatment, which Kathryn will need multiple times a year.
On top of that, complementary treatments that support the immune system and slow tumor growth are currently costing Kathryn up to $2000 each week.
They are forced to pay for the treatments on Kathryn’s husband’s single wage – an almost impossible feat.
To help lessen the financial blow to the family, a Gofundme page was set up last year, so far receiving 1000 donations.
“We’ve been overwhelmed with the amount of support she’s received,” Kathryn’s older sister Louise Berecic said.
“The diagnosis has completely turned our lives upside down, the guilt I feel as her older sister watching her go through this is immense, I wish I could take it away.”
While over $90,000 worth of donations will go a long way for the young Aussie, more funds are needed to finance the ongoing costs.
“To get a benefit you need ongoing treatment a couple of times a year, so I need so much more to be able to continue this treatment,” she said.
“I just want to live a long and happy life with my loved ones. I’ve got so much love to in my life to give and I’m not ready to give that up.”
To donate to Kathryn’s Gofundme, head to gofundme.com/f/for-our-girl-kat
