She was referred to Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, as it is one of only two hospitals<\/a> that specialise in PMP. The cancer in her appendix had ruptured, meaning there were other nodules in the rest of her body.<\/p>\n Claire after her first hospital discharge -Credit:Claire Gerring\/SWNS<\/p>\n On July 15, 2025, Claire, who is mum to sons Oscar, 15, and Spencer, 14, underwent a 10-hour operation to remove nine organs – her appendix, ovaries, fallopian tubes, gall bladder, spleen, uterus and cervix.<\/p>\n She also had removed her greater omentum, belly button, peritoneum lining and part of her bowel Her liver was also partially cut away, as well as having her diaphragm scraped and bladder stripped.<\/p>\n During the surgery Claire had HIPEC chemotherapy \u2013 heated chemotherapy circulated around her abdomen. After four-and-a-half weeks in hospital, she was discharged and has been left with bowel problems, but has no evidence of disease at the moment and will be monitored for the next 20 years.<\/p>\n Claire, a hairdresser from Wantage, Oxfordshire, said: \u201cI felt really quite scared and quite alone after my diagnosis. When you\u2019ve got a rare cancer and it\u2019s not something you\u2019ve heard of before, there are not a lot of people to talk to about it.<\/p>\n \u201cI was told by surgeons before my operation what they would remove. On top of that they cut part of my liver away and scraped my diaphragm and stripped my bladder.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a lot to process. It\u2019s quite scary, but I\u2019m lucky I had professionals who knew what they were doing. It\u2019s called the mother of all surgeries because of the severity of it.”<\/p>\n After struggling with pain in her side and asking for her laparoscopy surgery to be expedited by her GP, a positive FIT test and colonoscopy in March 2025 revealed Claire\u2019s inverted appendix, which needed a CT scan. Her original endometriosis surgery was set to go ahead on April 11, 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cBut on April 10, I phoned up just to double check they\u2019d got my CT scan results back as the next day I was now having investigative surgery,\u201d Claire told Talk to the Press. \u201cThat\u2019s where I was told I had malignant tissues in my appendix.<\/p>\n \u201cAt that point I wasn\u2019t too worried because I thought, \u2018well I don\u2019t need my appendix\u2019. Thirty seconds later, my gynaecology lady rang and said \u2018Claire this is serious\u2019 and that my surgery wouldn\u2019t be happening tomorrow.”<\/p>\n Claire with her husband, Tom -Credit:Claire Gerring\/SWNS<\/p>\n Investigative surgery on May 6 revealed the cancer was not contained to her appendix.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the tumour ruptures it releases mucin, which is a jelly-like substance,\u201d Claire said. \u201cIt\u2019s often called \u2018jelly belly\u2019. Your abdomen fills up and coats all your organs with mucin.”<\/p>\n As a result, Claire needed vital cytoreductive surgery with HIPEC to remove all her affected organs.<\/p>\n “I\u2019m coming up to my year’s anniversary and I\u2019m still left with complications in my bowel and I\u2019ve been back in hospital in between,\u201d she said. \u201cWith a lot of cancer you\u2019re told you lose weight, but with this one I put on weight and looked four months pregnant.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought I\u2019d just got to 40 and it was my middle-aged spread. But it was actually inside my abdomen.<\/p>\n \u201cRecovery is a slow process, obviously, like most surgeries, if you have your appendix out the recovery time is six to eight weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cTimes that by 11 (and) it\u2019s a long time. I had a bowel obstruction and was back in hospital for a 10-day stay recently.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m still grateful, it\u2019s a small price to pay. Basically what they say is you\u2019re never back to your old self, you just get used to the new you.”<\/p>\n Now a year into her recovery, Claire has thrown herself into fundraising for charity Pseudomyxoma Survivor, throwing a masked ball on July 11, 2026.<\/p>\n On the night, she said: “I just feel my main purpose for doing this is raising awareness about the rare cancer and Pseudomyxoma Survivor. I believe deeply that if you\u2019re willing to take, you must also be willing to give back. And here I am today, standing in front of you, living that promise.<\/p>\n “I feel so passionate about giving back to this charity which stepped in and helped me at the point in life when it felt uncertain and alone. They also support research and have recently given \u00a3100,000 towards \u2014 would you believe it \u2014 the research project is called The Beacon Project.<\/p>\n “They are creating a blood test to detect the cancer and recurrence way before CTs can even pick it up. Tonight, we are part of supporting these amazing breakthroughs.”<\/p>\n![\"Claire](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/58be2c1e-5f69-4883-a3f0-8be146c17046.jpg\"\/)
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