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Amber used to live her life with anxiety and fear鈥攁lways trying to stay within her comfort zone. She preferred staying indoors in her own home and avoided trying new things. But when she was diagnosed with cancer, she felt fear like she had never felt before.
In 2018, Amber Schick was diagnosed with appendix cancer, a very rare form of cancer, with only 1 person in 100,000 diagnosed each year. As a mother of three, she worried what this diagnosis would mean for her and her family.
A New Source of Hope
When she met her experienced care team at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the (the U), she felt relief, and even some hope, when they told her about an innovative treatment for advanced cancers in the abdomen: heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). Huntsman Cancer Institute is one of only a few hospitals in the United States that offers this cutting-edge treatment that combines surgery and heated chemotherapy in one procedure.
Amber admits that she was initially worried about the treatment. 鈥淚 researched it online and scared myself to death. If I could go back, I would've stayed off the Internet! I had fears of long-term side effects and complications.鈥
She decided to place her trust in doctor Laura Lambert, MD, a HIPEC surgeon at Huntsman Cancer Institute and director of the Peritoneal Malignancy Program at the U, and go through with the surgery.
鈥淔or some patients, HIPEC is a source for new hope. I鈥檝e come to recognize that hope is as vital to living as oxygen,鈥 Lambert says.
During the HIPEC surgery, Lambert spent nine hours removing dozens of tumors throughout Amber鈥檚 abdomen through a surgery called cytoreduction. After surgery, small tumors or invisible cancer cells can remain, so a special machine pumps and circulates a heated chemotherapy solution throughout the abdomen for 90 minutes. Chemotherapy heated to 104 degrees Fahrenheit kills any cancer cells that are too small to see or remove through surgery.
Amber was in the hospital for nine days after her surgery. Though Amber did not experience long-term side effects or complications from the treatment, HIPEC has the same risks as abdomen surgery, such as infection, bleeding, and the need for more surgery. Additionally, the combination of surgery with chemotherapy can cause extreme tiredness and weight loss.
Following six months of additional chemotherapy, Amber had a CT scan with the result she had been waiting for: NED, or no evidence of disease.
鈥淗IPEC was a life-saving opportunity that I was so grateful to have available,鈥 Amber says. 鈥淚 am so grateful to my phenomenal health care team. I consider them my angels on earth.鈥
Living Life Without Fear
September 2024 marked five years of clean scans since Amber鈥檚 HIPEC surgery. Her friends threw her a party where all her loved ones gathered in her backyard to celebrate her being officially cancer-free.
鈥淎ll the people I loved most were there,鈥 Amber remembers.
Reflecting on the five years since her HIPEC surgery, Amber says her life has changed in every way. By choosing to never lose hope and focus on getting healthy, Amber learned to let go of the little things that used to worry her.
She discovered a love of traveling and being outdoors and even started her own travel agency. She decided to start living in the moment, without the fear that used to control her.
鈥淚 am doing things that have always scared me, and I'm living life to the fullest! I am trying new things and going out of my comfort zone as often as possible,鈥 Amber says. 鈥淚 am loving living with a new mentality of not worrying about little things.鈥
Amber's husband, Dusty, served as her caregiver throughout her cancer journey.
The critical research happening every day at Huntsman Cancer Institute is supported by the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute, including cancer center support grant P30 CA042014, as well as Huntsman Cancer Foundation.