Ruth Miller

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Ruth started feeling sick in March of 2021. She thought she was dealing with a UTI but it turns out it was much more than that. In late August she had an appointment with her OBGYN who did an ultrasound of her uterus and ovaries. The doctor noticed a mass on one ovary and later that week Ruth visited a Gynecologist Oncologist who performed a complete hysterectomy the day after the initial appointment. He used her incision from a C-section so he could open her up and see what was going on. We were told it was most likely Ovarian Cancer and it had spread all through the abdomen, appendix, ovaries, uterus, fallopian tubes onto the small and large intestines and was like icing on her subcutaneous fat. 


When the pathology report arrived it showed the cancer had originated in her appendix. This is extremely rare and makes up 0.5% of all cancer diagnosis. She was redirected to Dr.  Pleat, a medical oncologist, who has only seen this cancer three other times in his career.  At her appointment on September 17, Dr. Pleat shared that we were dealing with a very aggressive and rare type of cancer called signet ring cell adenocarinoma. There is no cure and no treatment plan that has been effective for this type of cancer. When found, it is most always in the advance stages. Ruth has made the decision to sign up for Hospice Care to help treat the symptoms of her cancer at home. Dr. Pleat said she has at most, 12 months to live.