Mercy’s 15th Annual HEAT IT TO BEAT IT Event the Focus of October 2024 edition of “Medoscopy”

The October 2024 edition Mercy Medical Center's monthly talk show, “Medoscopy,” takes a different tact, leaving the studio to visit West Covington Park in Baltimore to explore the 15th annual HEAT IT TO BEAT event which was held Sunday, September 22. 

HEAT IT TO BEAT IT is a benefit walk and celebration to raise funds and awareness for research for HIPEC (Hyperthermic or Heated Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy) to treat abdominal cancers. Numerous cancer patients from across the region and the U.S. attend and participate in the walk which also includes guest speakers, entertainment, refreshments, children’s games, etc.

Interviewees included Armando Sardi, M.D., Director of The Institute for Cancer Care at Mercy, and his colleague, Vadim Gushchin, M.D., director of the hospital’s HIPEC program. Together, they are among a finite group of surgical oncologists in the United States considered experts in the treatment of peritoneal carcinomatosis using heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy or HIPEC.

Mercy gynecologic oncologist Teresa Diaz-Montes, M.D., was also a guest on the program, discussing her work with Dr. Sardi regards investigating HIPEC as a first-line treatment for ovarian cancer. Other guests included cancer patient and HIPEC recipient Helen Szablya, and patient advocate Denise Wesley, who started the Be UninTIMidated organization in honor of her husband, Tim, who was diagnosed with an advanced stage peritoneal carcinomatosis.

According to Dr. Sardi, “For many patients, this surgery is the only chance of long-term survival. It is sometimes called ‘the mother of all surgeries’. There is a lack of awareness about the disease and patients are often misdiagnosed and do not receive the appropriate treatment.”

This month’s edition of Medoscopy airs in two parts, Wednesday and Thursday, October 23 and 24 at 5:30 p.m. on Facebook Watch.

A 30-minute pre-taped program exploring the background and lives of Mercy clinicians, patients and others, Medoscopy was launched in spring 2022 and airs in two 15-minute segments. To view past episodes, visit the Medoscopy playlist on the Mercy Medical Center YouTube channel.

Medoscopy features video, sound, and lighting by Zinnia Film.