“WE WEREN’T WRONG – I MET EXCELLENT DOCTORS!” STORIES OF OUR PATIENTS

Humans are fascinating! There’s so much in the retroperitoneal space: the pancreas, kidneys, adrenal glands, ureters, parts of the duodenum and colon. And among them lies fatty tissue that holds nerve plexuses, lymph nodes, and blood vessels. Sometimes, in just 0.3% of all cancer cases, non-organ retroperitoneal tumors develop in this area. The exact causes remain unclear. Possible factors include hereditary genetic abnormalities, exposure to ionizing radiation, and certain chemical substances.

Until he was 55, Gilles Nikolic had no interest in this scientific side of life – until he got sick. He first consulted doctors in his area, where an ultrasound suggested he might have a retroperitoneal tumor. After that, he needed to consult oncology specialists, and the French citizen chose the National Medical Research Radiological Centre of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, specifically P. Hertsen Moscow Oncology Research Institute.

“I’ve been living in Moscow for 12 years now,” Mr. Nikolic told us after his operation. “I have a Russian wife. But I remain a French citizen. When we learned about my condition, we reviewed all options and decided to consult the specialists at your institute. We familiarized ourselves with its 125-year history and were amazed to discover it was the first oncology institution in Europe! So many global medical stars have worked and continue to work here. The choice was clear. And we weren’t wrong – I met excellent doctors!”

A key challenge with retroperitoneal tumors is the long absence of clinical symptoms, as doctors say – nothing visible, nothing heard. When pain eventually set in, and the tumor size began to grow rapidly, despite prompt hospitalization and further examination, surgeons were faced with a 28 cm tumor.

“The operation went smoothly,” said the head of the thoracoabdominal oncological surgery department, Candidate of Medical Sciences Ilya Kolobaev. “It was, generally speaking, a typical case of liposarcoma. But since the patient didn’t hesitate and seek other opinions, as men often do, hoping it might go away, and instead immediately sought specialist help, the tumor hadn’t affected other structures or organs. This allowed us to perform the surgery as radically as possible, with minimal impact on the patient. We hope that after rehabilitation, the patient’s life will return to normal.”

Gilles hopes for the same. He is eagerly awaiting a reunion with his wife and son, and his mood at discharge is, as we say here, “ready to go,” or as the French say, “my heels are itching.”