Appendix cancer survivor relishes life and giving back
After months of treatment for an undetermined abdominal infection, Kat Kitchen was diagnosed with a rare case of appendix cancer in In August 2023.
Kitchen, who was just shy of her 60th birthday, soon learned it was an even rarer, highly aggressive type of appendiceal adenocarcinoma that had spread.
“To go from being completely normal and healthy to being told I had stage IV cancer with a poor prognosis was overwhelming,” the Anaheim resident recalls.
After extensive research and a little help from a geneticist whose husband had the same disease, Kitchen and her daughter, Jess Feldmann, discovered UCI Health surgical oncologist Dr. Maheswari Senthil, an internationally recognized surgeon and among the few with extensive experience treating appendiceal signet ring cell adenocarcinoma.
In a matter of days, Kitchen met with Senthil and medical oncologist Dr. Jason Zell at the UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center in Orange.
A path forward
The gastrointestinal cancer specialists recommended immediate surgery to remove all visible signs of cancer followed by an abdominal bath of heated chemotherapy to kill any lingering cancer cells. A six-month course of systemic chemotherapy would follow.
“I was crying as Dr. Senthil was leaving the room,” the Anaheim resident remembers. “She came over to me and told me, ‘You are in good hands, you are going to be OK.’ ”
The previous six months had been a roller-coaster ride of ultrasounds and other tests plus three rounds of heavy-duty antibiotics for what started as a sharp but brief pain beneath her rib cage.
She even had an aborted appendectomy by a community surgeon alarmed by what he saw. He referred her for a colonoscopy that led to the initial cancer diagnosis.
Betting on the future
At last, Kitchen had found hope, the expert care and support she needed. With her surgery scheduled in early October, she made a momentous decision. “I didn't know how much time I had left, and I realized I might miss seeing Jess fulfill her dream.”
Rather than wait for treatments to conclude, Kitchen decided to help her daughter launch a beauty spa. By investing in the venture, she would not only fulfill Feldmann’s long-held dream, but the two of them would literally be building it together, creating a legacy regardless of what the future held.
On Oct. 6, she underwent cytoreductive surgery followed by hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy. During the marathon, 16-hour procedure, Senthil removed Kitchen's appendix, gall bladder, a kidney, half her colon, part of her liver and 19 lymph nodes, two of which turned up positive.
She spent seven days recuperating in the hospital. But three weeks after being released, she was eating normally, driving and providing home care for an elderly patient. Nor did she need a colostomy bag because the surgeon had preserved the left side of Kitchen’s colon.
“If it wasn’t for my amazing surgeon, Dr. Senthil, who knows what would have happened to me?”
Next step, chemo
In December, Zell started Kitchen on chemotherapy infusions every three weeks for six months. The medical oncologist allayed her initial fears by acknowledging them and calmly explaining exactly what to expect. He added, ‘If you get any symptoms or side effects, call me. I don't care what time it is, I'm here for you.”
His kindness and generosity disarmed her. “I can’t say enough good things about Dr. Zell and his care team,” says Kitchen. “He is an absolute angel.”
While she was undergoing chemo, plans for the spa began to take shape. Kitchen and her daughter found a place on Balboa Peninsula that needed a lot of elbow grease. They both decided it would become a haven for others enduring similar health crises.
Apothek Aesthetic Lounge, which opened in May 2025, offers beauty treatments for cancer patients, including highly discounted facials with chemo-friendly skin products.
“I want to give a space for women going through treatment where they can feel like themselves, beautiful and taken care of,” Feldmann says.
Kitchen added, “You feel like the whole world knows you have cancer, especially if you’ve lost your hair or are in a walker or wheelchair. We wanted a healing space where you can just relax, to feel like a girl again, pampered.“
Taking the Anti-Cancer Challenge
To express their gratitude and support for the cancer center, Feldmann and her mom will attend the ninth annual UC Irvine Anti-Cancer Challenge on Saturday, Oct. 11, on the university campus. They plan to host a wellness booth in the VIP area, offering free anti-inflammatory red-light therapy treatments to participants.
Kitchen, now 62, continues to be closely monitored for any recurrence of her signet ring cell appendix cancer, which affects fewer than one in 1.5 million Americans. But cancers of the appendix have increased sharply in recent years, especially among younger adults, with one in three cases occurring among people under age 50, according to a recent study.
As the second anniversary of her Oct. 6 surgery approaches, a date she now considers her new birthday, Kitchen says she feels like the Energizer bunny, She considers herself blessed to have received such “exceptional care.”
“If it wasn’t for Dr. Zell and Dr. Senthil, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Each year, The UC Irvine Anti-Cancer Challenge brings together thousands of cyclists, runners, walkers and volunteers — many of them cancer survivors — to support critical cancer research. Since its founding in 2017, the event has drawn participants from around the world and raised more than $6 million, all of it to directly fund potentially breakthrough pilot studies and early-phase clinical trials at the UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Register today at anti-cancerchallenge.org ›
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