Cancer

Patient At Northwestern Now Cancer Free After New Chemo Treatment

It’s been a little more than a month since Capers had his HIPEC treatment, and now shows no signs of cancer

Doctors at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, using a procedure never attempted at the facility, have seemingly cured a stay-at-home father of cancer. 

Corey Capers was a stay-at-home father, who took care of his 4-year-old daughter and was in the process of looking for a job, when he was diagnosed with cancer. Capers underwent six months of chemotherapy, which kept the cancer from growing--but the malignant tumors in his abdomen spread.

“What had happened is the appendix had exploded,” Capers said. “It perforated and so all of that cancerous tissue went up throughout my abdomen.”

Experts then suggested a treatment known as HIPEC—Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy.

Doctors removed all the cancerous nodules and then flushed Capers’ abdomen with a chemotherapy solution heated to 42 degrees Celsius. It is circulated throughout the abdomen for approximately an hour and a half before the solution is drained and the incision closed.

“It’s sort of a washing of the abdomen with this heated chemotherapy to clear all the residual disease or any residual disease that we can’t see with our human eye,” Dr. Ryan Merkow said.

It’s been a little more than a month since Capers had his HIPEC treatment, and now shows no signs of cancer.

The stay-at-home father said he has a new outlook on life, concentrating on his 4-year-old daughter Toni, his relationship with his wife and his well-being.

“Trying to enjoy things more than climb a ladder very quickly,” Capers said.

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