Dear Omentum Project Community:
Please help us inspire a researcher.
Please share this post with contacts in your network who might be interested.
Thank you for your help!
Appreciatively,
Meg
#Omentum #Omentectomy #Biololgy #Research #Microbiome #Lacefat #LymphaticSystem #OvarianCancer #DigestiveIssues #IBS #RatStudy
Dear Researcher,
As a 6-year ovarian cancer survivor with no-evidence-of-disease, I started The Omentum Project in 2018 with the goal of improving the quality of life for cancer survivors living without an omentum. I am writing to ask for your assistance in helping us find a faculty or student researcher who might be interested in advancing research regarding the biology of the omentum.
It is standard protocol to remove the omentum during ovarian cancer staging surgery, and some other cancer surgeries. Studies have shown an increased survival rate with this procedure. However, some cancer survivors living without an omentum experience persistent digestive issues.
We are seeking a researcher interested in studying and learning more about this under-studied organ. The Omentum Project Team is hoping to inspire academic research addressing one or more basic biology questions about the omentum. The research could be structured as a class project, an independent study project, the subject of NIH funding, or an honors thesis project. We have no funding for this work; just passion.
The aim of the research is to learn more about the role of the omentum in digestive and lymphatic fluid processes to help cancer survivors without an omentum develop strategies to manage their long-term symptoms. Research projects might include, but need not be limited to, rat/mice studies with two cohorts as described below.
Cohorts: one group with an omentum; a second group without an omentum
· Document fluid retention differences between the two cohorts
· Do the two groups have the same ability to digest/process:
o fat?
o fiber?
o salt?
· Are there differences in respiration/metabolism between the two cohorts?
· Does removal of the omentum change the gut microbiome?
· Does the omentum-less cohort:
o develop abdominal lymphedema?
o experience edema in the peritoneal cavity (ascites)?
o experience adipose tissue deposition in the abdominal cavity?
While we cannot offer funding, we can offer the support of our group in obtaining research grants, making presentations, or writing letters of support, and sharing the informal data we’ve compiled to date from an online survey completed by over 100 women whose omentum has been removed.
If you have any questions or wish to talk on the phone, please do not hesitate to contact me at TheOmentumProject@gmail.com. Please feel free to share this email with colleagues.
Sincerely,
Meg Wilkinson
Ovarian Cancer Survivor
