Heavy/Getty Hallmark Channel star Brennan Elliott
Brennan Elliott and his wife, Camilla (Cami) Row, are feeling hopeful and grateful after receiving the pathology results of her latest surgery for gastric cancer, which she’s been battling since 2018. The much-beloved Hallmark Channel actor updated fans in an emotional social media post on March 6, 2023, revealing that biopsies conducted during Row’s HIPEC surgery four days earlier showed no evidence of cancer.
The results are a huge milestone for Row, whom Elliott wrote has been on an “impossible journey” since her initial diagnosis in 2018 and a recurrence that led to a stage 4 diagnosis in early 2022. In response to the news, the couple, who have two kids together — Luna, 8, and Liam, 10 — received an outpouring of love from fans and Hallmark colleagues who expressed relief and hope for continued good news as Row recovers.
Brennan Elliott Shares Video of Wife Camilla Row Post-Surgery
In a March 6 Instagram post, Elliott shared a video of Row in her hospital gown, gingerly walking in the hospital hallway with a nurse and an IV pole.
In the caption, he wrote, “I wanted to update you all about my wife @camilla_row and her pathology results… which show no cancer!! All the biopsies came back negative as well as the fluid.”
“It’s been such an impossible journey,” Elliott continued, “but today is a day to rejoice in Gods mercy and grace. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone of you who has prayed for us and encouraged us along the way. I can’t put into words how thankful and grateful we are as a family for your support! I am on cloud nine!!”
One of Elliott’s biggest fans, who often shares updates on Row’s health via her Twitter account, tweeted a photo of Elliott and Row on March 2 as they arrived at the hospital for “her fourth #hipec surgery,” which Elliott later retweeted.
According to Dr. Fabian Johnston, chief of the Division of Gastrointestinal Oncology at Johns Hopkins, HIPEC stands for hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy surgery, which is “a two-step procedure that treats certain cancers in the abdomen.” The first surgery, which Row underwent in December, is a “cytoreductive surgery” during which surgeons “view all visible cancerous tumors and diseased tissue.”
After any visible evidence of cancer is removed, according to Dr. Johnston, the HIPEC procedure entails inserting a catheter to pump chemotherapy drugs into the abdominal cavity, which are then heated by a perfusion machine that “flows them through your abdomen for one to two hours.” Tissue samples are also taken for biopsies to determine whether any cancer cells remain.
After suffering debilitating heartburn for years, Row was initially diagnosed with stage 1A stomach cancer in June 2018, according to an April 2022 essay she wrote for the Hope for Stomach Cancer website. Following the removal of her “entire stomach and 47 lymph nodes,” Row’s cancer stage was upgraded to 1B due to lymph node involvement, and she began three months of chemo treatments in an attempt to “mop up any rogue cancer cells.”
Row was closely monitored by her oncology team, but by 2021 there were signs of cancer potentially developing elsewhere in her body. She underwent a preventative bilateral mastectomy that May, but worrisome CT scan results later in the year led to a February 2022 procedure that revealed her cancer had recurred and spread to her ovaries, resulting in a diagnosis of stage 4 metastatic gastric cancer.
Soon after, she had a salpingo-oophorectomy, which the National Cancer Institute describes as “the surgical removal of the fallopian tubes and ovaries.” In her April essay, Row wrote that her next steps included six to eight rounds of systemic chemotherapy and that she’d then be evaluated for HIPEC.
In October, Elliott told People, “She’s a warrior and I’m not saying that just because I’m married to her. I’m saying that because it’s amazing to watch a woman fight. And I’ve said to friends of mine, I don’t know if men have that same mechanism to go, ‘Nothing’s taking me down.’ We might just go, ‘I had enough. I’m checking out.'”
Hallmark Stars and Fans Celebrate Brennan Elliott’s Good News After Wife’s Surgery
Fans and friends of Elliott, who last starred in Hallmark’s “The Gift of Peace” with Nikki DeLoach in December, flooded his post with thousands of “likes” and comments, celebrating the good news about Row’s pathology reports.
His “All Summer Long” co-star Autumn Reeser wrote, “WOW!!!! So grateful and I’m awe of the journey you and your family have taken. Thank you, God!! 💖”
Will Kemp commented, “Sending huge ❤️” while Lacey Chabert, who’s currently filming with Kemp in Malta, wrote, “The very best news! Praise God🙌🏻 All my love to you guys❤️”
Andrew Walker wrote, “Wow wow wow Brennan. Just incredible news!! So much love to you and the family. ❤️”
Wes Brown left a wordless show of support — “💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼” — and Cindy Busby wrote, “This is so incredible!!! Sending so much love to you and your family! 💖🙏✨”
In a post on her private Instagram page, Row acknowledged she’d been scared and worried about the results, and was very relieved to be able to say “for now, we can breathe a little bit and celebrate this big win!”
She also thanked everyone who’d prayed for her and sent well wishes, adding, “I am for the first time in a long time, excited about the future.”