Cancer survivor turns to research to help other patients
REXFORD, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A local woman, who beat ovarian cancer twice, is focusing her efforts on research and improving the lives of patients. Meg Wilkinson, of Rexford, started her own advocacy group called The Omentum Project and enlisted a team of volunteer researchers to look at an organ that is rarely studied.
In 2014, a routine checkup for Wilkinson turned into a life changing diagnosis. Doctors told her she had ovarian cancer, and she underwent surgery. "It was a full hysterectomy, also the cancer, and then this organ no one has ever heard of," said Wilkinson.
The organ she is referring to is called the omentum, which lines the stomach and helps with the immune and digestive systems. "It has a tendency to gather cancer cells, and that's why they remove it," Wilkinson explained.
While people can live without it, as Wilkinson found out quickly, that comes with its own set of debilitating digestive challenges. "I had issues -- digestive issues -- when I had salty food of any kind. I mean, a can of soup. If I'm traveling, I can't eat out three times a day. There is just no way to get the sodium down," WIlkinson said.
Now on the other side of her cancer treatment, Wilkinson is on a mission spearheading a citizen science project with a team of volunteer researchers to learn more about how sodium is processed with or without the omentum.
Nancy B. Clemente, who is helping provide funds and resources for the study, added, "Sometimes, when people are experiencing these symptoms, it affects their quality of life, and it can be misdiagnosed."
The study is seeking 400 women in total: 200 with an omentum and 200 who had their omentum removed during a surgical procedure. Participants are asked to eat a certain amount of popcorn in one sitting, all in the name of science.
"You have to do things: weigh yourself every 30 minutes, measure you wrist every 30 minutes. It's a three-hour time commitment, once."
But there is one challenge the project is facing. "Finding women who don't have an omentum. We are looking for women right now," Clemente said.
The team hopes the data will provide information on this little known organ and help doctors and patients understand their symptoms while improving post-cancer treatment.
The study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board at Ellis Medicine for safety and its methodology. If you're interested, the first step is to find out if you're eligible.