Father-of-three Peter Giannopoulos diagnosed with terminal cancer after hernia
Father-of-three Peter Giannopoulos saw his doctor for a routine check-up – then came a death sentence. He’s now hoping for a miracle.
Cancer
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When Chantal Giannopoulos began hosting Facebook Live events to pray for people affected by cancer she had no idea her husband would receive his own terminal diagnosis years later.
After already battling gastric cancer in 2023, Peter Giannopoulos visited a doctor for what he only thought was a hernia in February this year.
“We sat down with (the doctor) … he said ‘I’m not worried about the hernia, I’m worried about the tumour that’s above it’,” Ms Giannopoulos, 43, told The Advertiser.
Now the couple, who have been married for 24 years and share three children together, say “the only option for Peter is a miracle”.
Mr Giannopoulos was first diagnosed with cancer in October 2023 after he found himself not being able to keep down food.
He underwent rounds of chemotherapy and surgery and was told he was “cancer-free”.
But in February this year he noticed a hernia in his abdomen.
“It was causing me a lot of discomfort,” the 54-year-old said.
He underwent a CAT scan and doctors discovered a golf-ball sized tumour above it in the lymph nodes, just below the liver and above his pancreas.
“It started to attach itself to those organs,” Ms Giannopoulos said.
Both Mr and Ms Giannopoulos, who live in Woodville North, were shattered.
“It took my breath away … I wasn’t expecting anything like that, especially the terminal part of it,” Mr Giannopoulos said.
Ms Giannopoulos said she was in “absolute shock”.
“We didn’t go in there for cancer,” she said.
“We went in there to say, ‘how are we going to operate on this hernia?’”
Doctors told Mr Giannopoulos he only has 12 months to live.
“I’m going to do everything that I physically and mentally can do to fight it,” Mr Giannopoulos said.
“I’ve always looked to the Lord for the answers to everything in my life and I’m really seeking him out for the answers for this one.”
The family, who attend Revival City Church in Modbury are Pentecostal and believe strongly in their faith.
“There is no cure for his cancer, but a miracle, so that is where we are right now,” Ms Giannopoulos said.
“We believe in miracles.”
Telling their children was the hardest part, according to the couple.
“Telling your kids this terrible news and going, his only option is a miracle, it’s really hard,” Ms Giannopoulos said.
“We were deeply devastated.”
The day after the parents shared the news with their children, 22-year-old Giorgiana, 20-year-old Aleco and 18-year-old Zoi, Mr Giannopoulos was rushed to hospital for treatment.
“There was no time to process it properly as a family and really get together,” Ms Giannopoulos said.
Currently, Mr Giannopoulos is undergoing chemotherapy and immunotherapy. He is also visiting the naturopath.
They are seeking all forms of treatment to fight his cancer.
If you want to donate to Peter, you can here.
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Originally published as Father-of-three Peter Giannopoulos diagnosed with terminal cancer after hernia
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