Melissa Hough considers herself to be patient No. 154. That’s how unusual her condition is.
In June, the Holt, Michigan resident was diagnosed with cystic mesothelioma. It’s a noncancerous version of the lung disease commonly linked to asbestos exposure. In Hough’s case, hundreds of cysts had developed throughout her abdomen.
Hough came to Michigan Medicine, where doctors recommended a new procedure called hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy, or HIPEC.
