Join Our NEW Virtual Support Groups!

Be Notified About Upcoming Virtual Meetings

* indicates required
X

About Appendix Cancer Connection Inc.

Appendix Cancer Connection Inc. was founded to provide support and information to those newly diagnosed with Appendix Cancer.

Appendix Cancer Connection Inc. was incorpoirated in 2008 and is a 501(c)(3) organization so all of your donations are tax deductible!

Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN MSN CNS

Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN MSN CNS

Founder

I am a registered nurse of 35 years. I’ve worked in hospitals for the majority of my career. I was also an instructor in a college nursing program for several years.

I have an Associate Degree and a Bachelor’s Degree in nursing, both from Indiana University. I have an Advanced Practice Master’s degree in nursing from Purdue University and a Graduate Certificate in Oncology from Loyola. I am both an Adult and Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist, one of four advanced nursing master’s degrees.

I was diagnosed with signet ring appendix cancer in March of 2001, when my children were 10 and 11 years old. I was diagnosed at Stage 4 and initially given little hope of survival. With specialized treatment, I am a long-term survivor. I live a normal life, work full-time, still enjoy bicycling, camping and hiking. I was treated with cytoreduction surgery and peritoneal chemotherapy.

I founded the Appendix Cancer Connection in 2008. I have since communicated with over 3000 newly diagnosed appendix cancer patients.

Advisory Board

Armando Sardi, M.D., FACS

Armando Sardi, M.D., FACS

Medical Director, The Institute for Cancer Care at Mercy

HIPEC – A Best New Treatment Option for Cancer

Dr. Sardi is one of Maryland’s leading surgical oncologists who use Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) to treat late stage, complex cancers of the abdominal region. Dr. Sardi has been performing HIPEC procedures since 1994 and is considered to be among the best doctors using the technique. This advanced heated chemotherapy procedure is often a life saving treatment option for patients who have exhausted more traditional treatment plans for stomach cancer. Patients have traveled to Mercy Medical Center from points up and down the East Coast to destinations across the U.S., to seek out Dr. Sardi for his cancer expertise in the HIPEC treatment.

Jesus Esquivel, M.D., FACS

Jesus Esquivel, M.D., FACS

Medical Director, International Oncology Initiatives, National Director for HIPEC Research

Dr Esquivel says “HIPEC may offer hope to patients fighting advanced stage colorectal cancer.”

Dr. Jesus Esquivel, FACS has joined Frederick Memorial Hospital in Frederick, Maryland. He specializes in gastrointestinal surgical oncology and also in combining Cytoreductive Surgery with Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy in the management of tumors that have disseminated throughout the abdominal cavity. His clinical research is oriented at minimally invasive treatment of pseudomyxoma peritonei and at identifying selection criteria for cytoreduction and HIPEC in patients with colorectal cancer, ovarian cancer and peritoneal mesothelioma. Dr. Esquivel founded the American Society of Peritoneal Surface Malignancies (ASPSM) that now has more than 235 members from 23 countries