SPOKANE -- Kitty Kane loves watching Grey’s Anatomy, but this Thursday she'll be paying special attention as the show highlights a specialized surgical procedure that saved her life.

The treatment, called Hipec, is most effective with tumors in the appendix. Traditional chemotherapy doesn't attack the cancer cells like this procedure. It's rarely performed because not very many doctors have the extensive training it takes.

Kane had the surgery and chemotherapy four years ago when doctors found a tumor in her appendix.

“It saved my life, it can improve a lot of people’s and we have someone right here in Spokane doing it and its amazing,” Kane said.

Her appendix was taken out but with this cancer it just wasn't enough. Dr. Ryan Holbrook, a surgical oncologist with Cancer Care Northwest, is the only doctor in the entire region trained in Hipec.

During the seven-and-a-hour surgery Dr. Holbrook removed the tumor from other organs it touched and then pumped heated chemotherapy through her body.

“The heat is important, the heat will kill cancer cells but it also helps in a sense open the pours of the tissue so the chemo will penetrate a little bit further,” Dr. Holbrook said.

Before Hipec, patients with appendix tumors didn't have many options because it was so difficult to get traditional chemo to the abdominal cavity.

“We can have a long term cure rate of anywhere from 75 to 90 percent versus before it wasn't very good at all,” Dr. Holbrook said.

While Dr. Holbrook stays away from medical drama on TV he'll try to watch tonight to see if McDreamy gets the procedure right.

“I think it's great. People need to know what their options are, that there is hope for people who don't have other options often time,” he said.