My middle-aged spread was jelly belly cancer that ruptured I had 9 organs removed in ‘mother of all surgeries’

TURNING 40, Claire Gerring didn’t think too much about the soft bulge growing around her waist, putting it down to ageing.

I put on weight and looked four months pregnant – I thought Id just got to 40 and it was my middle-aged spread, she tells Sun Health. 

[NINTCHDBPICT001100770075]

7

[NINTCHDBPICT001100770125]

7

Writing it off as part of ageing, Claire carried on as normal, working as a hairdresser and caring for the family home in Wantage, Oxfordshire, which she shares with husband Tom, 45, and their sons, Oscar, 15, and Spencer, 14.

The terrifying truth was that inside her abdomen, a cancerous tumour in her appendix had ruptured.

It was filling her pelvic cavity with thick, toxic mucin.

The bizarre medical phenomenon is known as jelly belly.

My abdomen was extended so I looked four or five months pregnant, says Claire.

Id gone up a dress size because of the weight gain.

Obviously with cancer you lose weight, with this one you gain it.

When the tumour ruptures, it releases mucin, which is a jelly-like substance.

Its often called jelly belly.

Your abdomen fills up and coats all your organs with mucin.

To save her life, surgeons had to perform a marathon 10-hour operation known in the medical world as the “Mother of All Surgeries”.

They stripped away a staggering 9 organs in a single operation.

[NINTCHDBPICT001100770056]

7

[NINTCHDBPICT001100770077]

7

Claire, now 42, was in the midst of investigations for endometriosis when she was diagnosed.

Endometriosis is a womens health condition that causes pain during periods. Claire had been having heavy periods and occasional bleeding from the back passage.

I thought it was to do with gynae and womens problems, so I didnt think anything of it, she says.

You learnt to live with it, Im not a complainer.

But when she began experiencing persistent pain in her right side, in March 2025, she was given a FIT test – which detects blood in stool. It came back positive.

She then had a colonoscopy and CT scan, revealing cancerous tissue on her appendix.

Unaware of her results, Claire was preparing for a laparoscopy in April 2025, a surgery to diagnose and treat endometriosis.

She says: [The day before] I phoned up just to double check theyd got my CT scan results back, as the next day I was having investigative surgery.

Thats where I was told I had malignant tissues in my appendix.

At that point, I wasnt too worried because I thought, well I dont need my appendix.

Thirty seconds later, my gynaecology lady rang and said, Claire, this is serious – and that my surgery wouldnt be happening tomorrow.”

Instead, Claire had an operation on May 6 to investigate the cancer, which revealed stage four Pseudomyxoma Peritonei (PMP) – a rare cancer that typically originates from a tumour in the appendix.

[NINTCHDBPICT001100770082]

7

[NINTCHDBPICT001100770078]

7

She was referred to Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital as it is one of only two hospitals that specialise in PMP.

The cancer in her appendix had ruptured, meaning there were other nodules in the rest of her body.

Claire says: I felt really quite scared and quite alone after my diagnosis.

When youve got a rare cancer, and its not something youve heard of before, theres not a lot of people to talk to about it.

It would be another two months before Claire had surgery.

Obviously I had go and sort out my will and a potential funeral plan, and telling my children was probably one of the hardest things Ive had to do, she says.

Claire needed vital cytoreductive surgery with HIPEC to remove all her affected organs.

Its called the mother of all surgeries because of the severity of it, says Claire.

On July 15, 2025, Claire underwent the 10-hour operation to remove 9 organs – her appendix, ovaries, fallopian tubes, gall bladder, spleen, uterus, and cervix.

She also had removed her greater omentum, belly button, peritoneum lining and part of her bowel.

On top of that, they cut part of my liver away and scraped my diaphragm and stripped my bladder, says Claire. 

Its a lot to process.

During the surgery, Claire had HIPEC chemotherapy heated chemotherapy circulated around her abdomen.

Recovery is a slow process, Claire says. If you have your appendix out the recovery time is six to eight weeks.

Times that by eleven, its a long time.

After four-and-a-half weeks in hospital, she was discharged.

The extra weight she was carrying disappeared with the cancer.

But while she has no evidence of disease at the moment, she will be monitored for the next 20 years.

Im still left with complications in my bowel – its like it has gone to sleep, it doesnt work very well, says Claire. 

[NINTCHDBPICT001100770079]

7

I probably only go to the toilet once a week, if that.

My bladder I get pain from. They [doctors] explained that before it was like clingfilm and now its like Velcro – it sticks to the insides and if I feel a pulling sensation thats why.

Im still grateful, its a small price to pay.

Basically what they say is youre never back to your old self, you just get used to the new you.”

Claire has thrown herself into fundraising for charity Pseudomyxoma Survivor, throwing a masked ball on July 11, 2026.

On the night, she said: “I just feel my main purpose for doing this is raising awareness about the rare cancer and Pseudomyxoma survivor.

I believe deeply that if youre willing to take, you must also be willing to give back.

And here I am today, standing in front of you, living that promise.

“I feel so passionate about giving back to this charity who stepped in and helped me at the point in life when it felt uncertain and alone.

The charity has recently given 100,000 towards a research project called The Beacon Project.

“They are creating a blood test to detect the cancer and recurrence way before CTs can even pick it up, says Claire.

She has raised 16,000 so far for the charity through JustGiving and other events.

You can donate to Claire’s JustGiving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/claire-gerring-1?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL